Journal of Colloid and Interface Science最新文献

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with high-performance and stability is desirable for encouraging the transition of the technology from academia to industries. However, achieving this balance remains a formidable challenge, primarily due to the requirement of robust, earth-abundant reversible oxygen electrocatalyst. The present study introduces a simple strategy to synthesize Co-N_x rich nanoalloy with N-doped porous carbon tubes (NiCo@NPCTs). The optimized catalyst is bestowed with high electrochemical surface area, and three dimensional (3D) interwoven N-doped PCTs. Moreover, the presence of dual redox-active sites synergistically promotes rapid mass/charge transfer for oxygen electrocatalysis. These features offer excellent reversibility for oxygen electrocatalysis with a reversible oxygen potential gap (ΔE) of 0.74 V. The NiCo@NPCTs is utilized as an air-electrode for designing ZABs and using the same electrode-material asymmetric supercapacitor device (ASC) is fabricated. The assembled ZAB delivers an impressive peak power density of 298 mW cm^-2 and specific capacity of 731mAh g^-1 at 50 mA cm^-2, along with high rate-capability, durable round-trip voltaic-efficiency. The as-fabricated ASC also shows exciting performance with negligible fading in capacitance and columbic efficiency after 10,000 continuous charge-discharge cycles at a 10 A/g current density. In addition, ZAB-ASC integrated device is assembled, showing real-time application. Thus, the synthesized electrode-material holds great promise for electrocatalysis and also for diverse energy storage applications.

Lead Sulfide (PbS) has garnered attention as a promising thermoelectric (TE) material due to its natural abundance and cost-effectiveness. However, its practical application is hindered by inherently high lattice thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity. In this study, we address these challenges by surface functionalization of PbS nanocrystals using Cu₂S molecular complexes-based ligand displacement. The molecular complexes facilitate the incorporation of Cu into the PbS matrix and leads to the formation of nanoscale defects, dislocations, and strain fields while optimizing the charge carrier transport. The structural modulations enhance the phonon scattering and lead to a significant reduction in lattice thermal conductivity of 0.60 W m^-1K^-1 at 867 K in the PbS-Cu₂S system. Simultaneously, the Cu incorporation improves electrical conductivity by increasing both carrier concentration and mobility with carefully optimized the content of Cu₂S molecular complexes. These synergistic modifications yield a peak figure-of-merit (zT) of 1.05 at 867 K for the PbS-1.0 %Cu₂S sample, representing an almost twofold enhancement in TE performance compared to pristine PbS. This work highlights the effectiveness of surface treatment in overcoming the intrinsic limitations of PbS-based materials and presents a promising strategy for the development of high-efficiency TE systems.

Thermal batteries are a type of thermally activated reserve batteries, where the cathode material significantly influences the operating voltage and specific capacity of the battery. In this work, VS₄-VO₂ has been synthesized through the hydrothermal method and used as the cathode material for thermal batteries. Firstly, the material with the VS₄ crystallinity is obtained at 170 °C and the mass percentages of VS₄/VO₂ are 63.1 % and 36.9 %, respectively. The formation mechanism of VS₄-VO₂ has been proposed based on in-situ ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, which shows that the hydrolysis product S^2- under alkaline conditions promotes the formation of VS₄. To further improve the conductivity of the material, the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been introduced into VS₄-VO₂ nanomaterials. When applied in thermal batteries, the rGO-VS₄-VO₂ composite exhibits a voltage plateau of approximately 2.4 V and a discharging specific capacity of 327 mAh/g with the cut-off voltage of 1.5 V at 50 mA and 350°C, which are higher than those of VS₄-VO₂. Furthermore, the discharge mechanisms of rGO-VS₄-VO₂ in thermal batteries have been analyzed, which indicates that VS₄-VO₂ involves two processes of phase transformation, including the intercalation process and conversion process. The results confirm rGO-VS₄-VO₂ as a promising cathode material for thermal batteries.

Rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) are promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries in large-scale energy storage applications owing to the abundance of their raw materials and high safety. However, achieving high energy density and long cycling life simultaneously holds great challenges for RABs, especially for high capacity transition metal selenide (TMS)-based positive materials suffering from structural collapse and dissolution in acidic ionic liquid electrolyte. Herein, Se-doped carbon encapsulated Cu₂Se with yolk-shell structure (YS/Se-C@Cu₂Se) is rationally constructed to address such issues. Electrochemical and spectroscopic analyses as well as density functional theory calculations show that the highly conductive Se-C shell enhances the electrochemical reaction kinetics of the electrode and provides strong adsorption for the soluble Cu and Se species. Benefiting from these merits, the optimal YS/Se-C@Cu₂Se cathode manifests a high specific capacity of 1024.2 mAh/g at 0.2 A/g, a superior rate capability of 240.5 mAh/g at 3.2 A/g, and a long-term cycling stability over 2500 cycles. This work offers a feasible approach to the design and construction of low-cost and efficient TMS-based positive materials for realizing practically usable RABs.

Aqueous aluminum (Al)-air batteries (AABs) are gaining significant attention due to their excellent theoretical performance. However, the self-corrosion of the aluminum anode reduces anodic efficiency and battery capacity, limiting the broad commercial application of AABs. Herein, we propose the utilizing Allium Mongolicum Regel (AMR) extract as a green electrolyte additive to optimize the Al anode/electrolyte interface in alkaline AABs. Our findings indicate that the incorporation of AMR into NaOH electrolyte offers an effective strategy for preventing the self-corrosion of the Al anode, leading to significant enhancements in battery performance. Electrochemical experiments demonstrate that AMR achieves an inhibition efficiency of 53.9%. Through in-situ optical microscopy and in-situ attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, it is observed that the introduction of AMR can retard pitting corrosion by adsorbing onto the Al surface. This leads to a significant increase in specific capacity, from 1096 to 1667 mAh g^-1, compared with the electrolyte without AMR for AABs. Further analysis utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, quantum chemical calculations, and ab-initio molecular dynamics determine that 4-hydroxycinnamamide (4-HCAA) and flavone molecules, which are the most active components of AMR, can bind with Al atoms through the carbonyl O functional group, forming an O-Al-O bond, thus suppressing the self-corrosion of the Al anode. The incorporation of the AMR extract into the electrolyte of AABs represents a sustainable approach for optimizing battery performance. This innovative strategy addresses a critical issue in the development of AABs, potentially creating new opportunities for their commercialization and widespread utilization as a reliable energy storage technology.

Increasing the Ni content in Ni-rich cathodes to over 90% can further enhance the energy density and reduce costs. However, this aggravates the issue of lattice oxygen release due to the instability of the layered structure. In this work, an entropy-stabilized surface strategy is used to process ultrahigh nickel cathode LiNi_0.96Co_0.03Mn_0.01O₂ (NCM). Utilizing the low solid solubility of high-valent elements W, Mo and Nb in NCM, the simultaneous introduction of W, Mo and Nb ions will aggregate on the outer surface of NCM, which in turn forms a composite entropy assisted enhancement surface. This entropy assisted enhancement surface consists of a composite lithium compound coating and a high-entropy rock salt phase, which inhibits the loss of surface lattice oxygen and reduces the corrosion of cathode particles by electrolyte decomposition products. Furthermore, the formation of the entropy assisted enhancement surface retains the role of refined primary particles, thereby further enhancing the mechanical properties. NCM modified with composite entropy assisted enhancement surface (HE03) exhibits a capacity of 234.5 mAh g^-1 at 0.1C with a capacity retention of 96.7% after 100 cycles at 0.5C. This entropy-stabilizing strategy enables the ultrahigh nickel cathodes to display high specific capacity of and improved cycling stability, presenting a promising modification approach.

The redox reactions occurring at positive electrode of the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries involve several key electrocatalytic processes that significantly impact the overall performance of the electrochemical energy storage system. This study presents a heterogeneous catalytic composite material composed of CoSe quantum dots (QDs) integrated with Sn₃O₄ nanosheets, which enhances the overall ionic conductivity and accessibility of active sites within the cathode. This controlled migration effectively traps polysulfides within the cathode, reducing their dissolution into the electrolyte and mitigating the shuttle effect. Li-S batteries incorporating CoSe QDs/Sn₃O₄ porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs) demonstrate a high discharge capacity of 1596.9 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 C, along with remarkable cycling stability, achieving 1500 cycles at 2 C with a minimal capacity decay of 0.024 % per cycle. Even under a high sulfur loading conditions of 8.61  mg cm^-2 and a low electrolyte to sulfur ratio of approximately 4.6 μL mg^-1, the CoSe QDs/Sn₃O₄ PCNFs cathode delivers an initial discharge-specific capacity of 732.0 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C. Through this method, we accomplished the size control and uniform distribution of CoSe QDs, and this method can be extended to the synthesis of other metal oxide and metal sulfide QDs, offering a novel idea for the application of QDs in polysulfide catalysis.

Developing next generation batteries necessitates a paradigm shift in the way to engineering solutions for materials challenges. In comparison to traditional organic liquid batteries, all-solid-state batteries exhibit some significant advantages such as high safety and energy density, yet solid electrolytes face challenges in responding dimensional changes of electrodes driven by mass transport. Herein, the critical mechanical parameters affecting battery cycling duration are evaluated based on Spearman rank correlation coefficient, decoupling them into strength, ductility, stiffness, toughness, elasticity, etc. Inspired by the statistical results to apply the materials with stress-relief mechanisms, we propose an elastic solid electrolyte based on the multi-scale mechanical dissipation mechanism. The Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂/thermoplastic polyurethanes curled fibrous framework is designed and prepared by side-by-side electrospinning technique, serving as elastic source and ion-transport pathways for the composite with poly(ethylene oxide) matrix. Dominated sequentially by electrolyte deformation, network orientation, extendable fibers and molecular chain unfolding, the prepared elastic electrolyte exhibits excellent resilience, compression and puncture resistance. Meanwhile, the curled fast ion conductor fibers can also provide the transport pathways along the component of transmembrane direction, endowing the composite electrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 1.46 × 10^-4 S cm^-1 at 30 °C. A low capacity decay of 0.011 % per cycle at 2 C in assembled LiFePO₄/Li battery and an excellent lifespan of 1000 cycles at 50 °C in LiNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂/Li battery can be achieved. The elastic electrolyte system presents a promising strategy for enabling stable operation of high-energy all-solid-state lithium batteries.

High-power applications, particularly in electromagnetic catapults, electric vehicles, and aerospace, necessitate the use of polymer dielectrics that demonstrate reliable performance in high-temperature environments. This study focuses on synthesizing three distinct morphologies of innovative wide-bandgap high-dielectric materials-hydroxyapatite (HAP). By conducting a combination of experiments and Multiphysics finite element simulations, a comprehensive comparison was made regarding the properties exhibited by three polyimide (PI) composites: PI/sea urchin-like HAP, PI/spherical HAP, and PI/rodlike HAP. The incorporation of high-surface-area spherical HAP or high aspect ratio rodlike HAP introduces intricate and convoluted growth paths for electric tree formation within the PI matrix, thereby augmenting the energy storage density (U_e) at elevated temperatures (U_{η > 90%} = 4.82 J/cm³, U_{η > 80%} = 6.11 J/cm³, U_{η > 70%} = 8.73 J/cm³, at 150 ℃). The incorporation of HAP increases the dielectric constant ε_r to a maximum value of 4.96 in pure PI matrices, enabling the resulting PI/HAP composites to achieve remarkable values for both U_e (4.82 J/cm³) and η (92.4 %) even under low electric field (E) conditions (350 MV/m). The PI/HAP composite film demonstrates high energy storage density under low E, offering an innovative solution for energy storage applications in film capacitors operating in high-temperature environments.

Aqueous zinc-ion hybrid micro-supercapacitors (AZIHMSCs) with high power density, moderate energy density, good cycle life and excellent safety are promising candidates for micro-energy storage. Among them, AZIHMSCs based on Ti₃C₂T_x MXene anodes and battery-type cathodes can provide superior performance. However, two-dimensional (2D) Ti₃C₂T_x MXene electrodes have an inherent restacking issue and -F surface terminations that hinder ion diffusion and ultimately reduce the energy storage capacity of the corresponding AZIHMSCs. Herein, a deep alkalisation strategy was developed to synthesise oxygen-rich, functionalised MXene (O-MXene) nanofibres to solve these problems. Compared with the traditional 2D few-layered Ti₃C₂T_x MXene electrode, O-MXene electrodes exhibit an interconnected, three-dimensional (3D) microstructure and ample oxygen functional groups, enhancing Zn²⁺ affinity and improving capacitance and rate performance. First-principles calculations further reveal the enhanced interactions between O-MXene electrodes and Zn²⁺ supported by atomic interaction, electronic behaviour and orbital hybridization. The AZIHMSCs fabricated with an O-MXene film anode and a MnO₂-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MnO₂-MWCNTs) film cathode exhibit excellent energy density (130.6 μWh cm^-2), power density (9.5 mW cm^-2), cycling stability (93.29 % after 5000 cycles) and flexibility (98.43 % capacitance retained at 120° bending). This study will open new avenues for modifying MXene materials and next-generation high-performance AZIHMSCs.