Recent development and progress of structural energy devices

In order to fully replace the traditional fossil energy supply system, the efficiency of electrochemical energy conversion and storage of new energy technology needs to be continuously improved to enhance its market competitiveness. The structural design of energy devices can achieve satisfactory energy conversion and storage performance. To achieve lightweight design, improve mechanical support, enhance electrochemical performance, and adapt to the special shape of the device, the structural en...     

Recent advances in multifunctional electrochromic energy storage devices and photoelectrochromic devices

Multifunctional devices integrated with electrochromism and energy storage or energy production functions are attractive because these devices can be used as an effective approach to address the energy crisis and environmental pollution in society today. In this review, we explain the operation principles of electrochromic energy storage devices including electrochromic supercapacitors, electrochromic batteries, and the photoelectrochromic devices. Furthermore, the material candidates and structure types of these multifunctional devices are discussed in detail. The major challenges of these devices along with a further outlook are highlighted at the end.     

In situ studies: electrochemistry and scattering

Given the global relevance of sustainable energy and energy security, the study of electrochemistry and the development of energy storage devices is a very active area of research. As researchers attempt to overcome issues with current energy storage devices, innovative methods are required to probe deeper into the working mechanisms of devices. The ability to study electrochemistry as it takes place in electrochemical energy storage devices has been enabled by continuous developments in instrumentation, improved accessibility for researchers and also innovations in data collection and cell design. In this short review, we highlight several studies that make use of innovations in data collection, data interpretation, or device design, to study electrochemical energy storage devices using scattering methods.     

High to ultra-high power electrical energy storage

High power electrical energy storage systems are becoming critical devices for advanced energy storage technology. This is true in part due to their high rate capabilities and moderate energy densities which allow them to capture power efficiently from evanescent, renewable energy sources. High power systems include both electrochemical capacitors and electrostatic capacitors. These devices have fast charging and discharging rates, supplying energy within seconds or less. Recent research has focused on increasing power and energy density of the devices using advanced materials and novel architectural design. An increase in understanding of structure-property relationships in nanomaterials and interfaces and the ability to control nanostructures precisely has led to an immense improvement in the performance characteristics of these devices. In this review, we discuss the recent advances for both electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors as high power electrical energy storage systems, and propose directions and challenges for the future. We asses the opportunities in nanostructure-based high power electrical energy storage devices and include electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors for their potential to open the door to a new regime of power energy.     

利用扫描开尔文探针显微镜观察薄膜光电器件能级排布

薄膜光电器件的能级结构直接决定了载流子的产生、分离、传输、复合和收集等微观动力学过程,从而决定了器件性能。因此准确获取器件能级结构,是深入理解器件工作机制、推动器件技术革新的重要科学依据。此专论系统地介绍了本课题组利用扫描开尔文探针显微镜(SKPM)表征薄膜光电器件如有机太阳能电池、有机-无机钙钛矿光探测器等器件中界面能级结构的工作。垂直型薄膜器件中的活性材料层被顶电极与底电极封闭,通常难以直接在器件工况下测量其中的界面能级排布,我们发展了横截面SKPM技术来解决这一难题。研究表明,界面层是调控器件能级结构、决定器件极性、提高器件性能的重要手段。本文介绍的表征技术有望在各种薄膜光电器件,诸如光伏器件、光探测器、发光二极管,尤其是各种叠层构型器件的研究中展现出广阔的应用前景。     

Natural Biopolymers for Flexible Sensing and Energy Devices

Natural biopolymers feature natural abundance, diverse chemical compositions, tunable properties, easy processability, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as nontoxicity, providing new opportunities for the development of flexible sensing and energy devices. Generally, biopolymers are utilized as the passive and active building blocks to endow the flexible devices with mechanical robustness and good biocompatibility. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review on natural biopolymer-based sensing and energy devices. The diverse structures and fabrication processes of three typical biopolymers, including silk, cellulose, and chitin/chitosan, are presented. We review their utilities as the supporting substrates/matrix, active middle layers, separators, electrolytes, and active components of flexible sensing devices(sensors, actuators, transistors) and energy devices(batteries, supercapacitors, triboelectric nanogenerators). Finally, the remaining challenges and future research opportunities are discussed.     

烯碳纤维基能源器件的研究进展

纤维状能源器件的研究极大地推动了可穿戴电子设备的快速发展。烯碳纤维主要包括碳纳米管纤维和石墨烯纤维,其微观组成单元具有独特的碳碳共轭分子形态,宏观结构具有高度可调控性,表现出高的比强度、优良的导电性和导热性、以及良好的机械柔韧性等,被广泛应用于先进能源器件的研究和开发,有效促进了柔性可穿戴电子器件的发展。本文综述了烯碳纤维基能源器件包括能量转换和储能器件等的研究和应用进展,具体介绍了烯碳纤维基太阳能电池、湿气发电机、热电发电机、超级电容器以及电化学电池等的最新成果,重点讨论了烯碳纤维基能源器件的制备方法和可穿戴应用,分析了烯碳纤维基储能及能量转换器件面临的问题和挑战,期望能够为未来高性能纤维基可穿戴能源器件的发展提供有价值的研究思路。     

Preparation and characterization of anthracenecarboxylic acid doped polyaniline thin films

Doped polyaniline films were prepared with electrochemistry method. A small conjugated molecule, anthracenecarboxylic acid(2-ACA), was used as the dopant, considering its electrical activeness due to the conjugated π-π* structure. Film morphology of doped and undoped polyaniline samples was investigated. The corresponding changes in optical and electrical properties after ACA doping were discussed. By measuring and calculating their energy level distribution, a promising application of polyaniline thin films as buffer layer in optic-electric devices is expectable.     

红色铱配合物磷光材料及器件的研究进展

有机电致发光器件具有驱动电压低、高亮度、高效率等优点,引起了研究人员的广泛关注,在固态照明和平板显示领域具有广阔应用前景。 在绿、蓝、红三基色器件中,绿光器件和蓝光器件的性能普遍优于红光器件,基本满足了产业化的需要;目前红色有机电致发光材料及器件的研究进展相对缓慢。 因为红光材料的能隙较窄,致使主客体材料之间能级匹配困难,导致红光器件普遍效率低、色纯度差,但是,红光材料是获得白光器件必不可少的材料。 因此,如何获得高性能红光材料对于有机电致发光器件的发展至关重要。 本文综述了近年来红色铱配合物磷光材料及器件的研究进展,对提升效率和色纯度的方法进行重点阐述;并结合现有工作,对红色有机电致磷光材料与器件的前景进行展望。     

Integrated Devices to Realize Energy Conversion and Storage Simultaneously

Other forms of energy are generally converted to electric energy and then transported to electrochemical devices, where the energy is stored, by external electric wires. To further improve total energy conversion and storage efficiency, interest in simultaneously realize the energy conversion and storage in a single device has increased. This Concept describes recent progress in developing such novel integrated energy devices. Both planar and wire architectures are carefully illustrated with an emphasis on the “energy wire” which has been the focus of past developments due to its unique and promising applications, such as being woven into clothes or other complex structures by conventional textile technology. The current challenges and future directions of the integrated devices, particularly in the wire architecture, are summarized.     

Challenges and prospects of metal sulfide materials for supercapacitors

Worldwide, the research on advanced materials for energy storage devices has drawn greater attention. Numerous works on different energy storage materials has been reported and still continuing. Among the energy storage devices, electrochemical supercapacitors (ESs) are one of the most investigated topics. The globalization and increasing demand of smart and flexible devices has forced the current research to develop low-cost, high-energy density and stable ESs. In this regard, metal sulfides (MSs)–based materials have been envisioned for ESs applications owing to their unique and promising properties. Recently, several research articles have been published on MSs-based electrodes for ESs with enhanced performances. This review presents a brief survey on such recent developments towards synthesis of MSs and their use as an efficient electrode material in ESs. The challenges and future aspect involved with MSs to develop and establish it as a promising energy storage material are also discussed.     

Highly flexible pseudocapacitor based on freestanding heterogeneous MnO2/conductive polymer nanowire arrays

Flexible electronics such as wearable electronic clothing, paper-like electronic devices, and flexible biomedical diagnostic devices are expected to be commercialized in the near future. Flexible energy storage will be needed to power these devices. Supercapacitor devices based on freestanding nanowire arrays are promising high power sources for these flexible electronics. Electrodes for these supercapacitor devices consisting of heterogeneous coaxial nanowires of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-shell and MnO(2)-core materials have been shown in a half cell system to have improved capacitance and rate capabilities when compared to their pure nanomaterials; however, their performance in a full cell system has not been fully investigated. Herein, these coaxial nanowires are tested in both a symmetric and an asymmetric (utilizing a PEDOT nanowire anode) full cell configuration in the aspect of charge storage, charge rate, and flexibility without using any carbon additives and polymer binders. It is found that the asymmetric cell outperforms the symmetric cell in terms of energy density, rate capability, and cycle ability. The asymmetric device's electrode materials display an energy density of 9.8 Wh/kg even at a high power density of 850 W kg(-1). This device is highly flexible and shows fast charging and discharging while still maintaining 86% of its energy density even under a highly flexed state. The total device is shown to have a total capacitance of 0.26 F at a maximum voltage of 1.7 V, which is capable of providing enough energy to power small portable devices.     

Lignin in storage and renewable energy applications:A review

Lignin is a cheap, abundant and non-toxic group of complex phenolic polymers obtained in large amounts from the papermaking and cellulosic biofuel industries. Although the application of lignin has been explored in these and several more industries, there are limited applications of lignin in the energy industry.However, numerous research revealed a great interest in the exploration of this renewable biopolymer in storage energy devices. Some of these applications include the use of lignin as an expander for lead-acid batteries, electrodes for primary and rechargeable batteries, electrodes for electronic double layer capacitors and electrochemical pseudocapacitors, and to feed different types of fuel cells. The use of lignin in energy storage devices improves not only the performance of these devices but also decreases the price and toxicity, contributing to obtaining greener energy devices. Based on the above, this review provides an overview of the main research work related to the use of lignin as a renewable component, suitable to replace some synthetic and toxic compounds used in the fabrication of energy storage devices with particular emphasis on batteries, advanced supercapacitors, and solar and fuel cells.     

SIMS imaging: Apparatus and applications

Apparatus, software and methods were developed for a microbeam analysis of semiconductor structures or devices based on Si and GaAs with secondary ion mass spectrometry. Semiquantitative analysis methods were based on measuring the relative elemental sensitivity factors. As examples of apparatus and methods applications investigations of various semiconductor materials and devices are described.     

Organic photoresponse materials and devices

Organic photoresponse materials and devices are critically important to organic optoelectronics and energy crises. The activities of photoresponse in organic materials can be summarized in three effects, photoconductive, photovoltaic and optical memory effects. Correspondingly, devices based on the three effects can be divided into (i) photoconductive devices such as photodetectors, photoreceptors, photoswitches and phototransistors, (ii) photovoltaic devices such as organic solar cells, and (iii) optical data storage devices. It is expected that this systematic analysis of photoresponse materials and devices could be a guide for the better understanding of structure-property relationships of organic materials and provide key clues for the fabrication of high performance organic optoelectronic devices, the integration of them in circuits and the application of them in renewable green energy strategies (critical review, 452 references).     

Additive manufacturing for energy storage: Methods,designs and material selection for customizable 3D printed batteries and supercapacitors

Additive manufacturing and 3D printing in particular have the potential to revolutionize existing fabrication processes, where objects with complex structures and shapes can be built with multifunctional material systems. For electrochemical energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors, 3D printing methods allows alternative form factors to be conceived based on the end use application need in mind at the design stage. Additively manufactured energy storage devices require active materials and composites that are printable, and this is influenced by performance requirements and the basic electrochemistry. The interplay between electrochemical response, stability, material type, object complexity and end use application are key to realising 3D printing for electrochemical energy storage. Here, we summarise recent advances and highlight the important role of methods, designs and material selection for energy storage devices made by 3D printing, which is general to the majority of methods in use currently.     

导电聚合物在纤维状能源器件中的应用进展

Conductive polymers implemented in fibrous energy devices have drawn considerable attention because of their economic importance, good environmental stability, and electrical conductivity. Conductive polymers demonstrate interesting mechanical, electronic, and optical properties, controllable chemical and electrochemical behavior, and facile processability. This review elaborates on the latest research in conductive polymers in fibrous energy devices, such as fibrous supercapacitors, fibrous solar cells, and fibrous integrated energy devices. The performance requirements of these fibrous energy devices, with specific reference to related materials, fabrication techniques, fiber structure, and electronic transport as well as mechanical functionality, are also reviewed in this paper.     

Discrete Integrators Based on Superionic Conductors: Perspective for Measuring the Amount of Electric Energy

The possibilities of using discrete integrators based on superionic conductors in a device for measuring the electric energy consumption in local networks are considered. The device is easily assembled at the working place. The system can also be used for measuring both the spent charge (ampere-hours) and the amount of consumed energy. When measuring, recording, and storing the information, the system needs no power supply and does not have to be connected to a live line by breaking it.     

基于碳材料的纳米发电器件研究进展

如何解决能源危机已经成为全人类亟待解决的重大挑战之一,而日益严峻的环境污染问题更驱使着人们对清洁能源的迫切需求。近年来,研究人员利用微纳加工技术制备不同维度的碳基材料以捕获周围环境所蕴藏的能量,被视为是一种开发可再生清洁能源的有效途径。本文主要从不同的能量利用形式出发,介绍了不同维度的碳材料用于纳米发电器件的研究进展,同时简要阐述了碳材料纳米发电器件在可穿戴器件、传感器等领域的潜在应用。     

Research progress on transition metal oxide based electrode materials for asymmetric hybrid capacitors

In the past few years, the increasing energy consumption of traditional fossil fuels has posed a huge threat to human health. It is very imperious to develop the sustainable and renewable energy storage and conversion devices with low cost and environment friendly features. Hybrid supercapacitors are emerging as one of the promising energy devices with high power density, fast charge-discharge process and excellent cycle stability. However, morphology and structure of the electrode materials exert serious effect on their electrochemical performances. In this review, we summarized recent progresses in transition metal oxide based electrode materials for supercapacitors. Different synthesis routes and electrochemical performances of electrode materials and storage mechanisms of supercapacitor devices have been presented in details. The future developing trends of supercapacitor based on metal oxide electrode materials are also proposed.