Towards high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries: Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated LiNi<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Zn<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Zn-doped LiNi_0.8Co_0.2O₂ exhibits impressive electrochemical performance but suffers limited cycling stability due to the relative large size of irregular and bare particle which is prepared by conventional solid-state method usually requiring high calcination temperature and prolonged calcination time. Here, submicron LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized by a facile sol-gel method, which followed by coating Al₂O₃ layer of about 15 nm to enhance its electrochemistry performance. The as-prepared Al₂O₃-coated LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ cathode delivers a highly reversible capacity of 182 mA h g^?1 and 94% capacity retention after 100 cycles at a current rate of 0.5 C, which is much superior to that of bare LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ cathode. The enhanced electrochemistry performance can be attributed to the Al₂O₃-coated protective layer, which prevents the direct contact between the LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ and electrolyte. The escalating trend of Li-ion diffusion coefficient estimated form electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) also indicate the enhanced structural stability of Al₂O₃-coated LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂, which rationally illuminates the protection mechanism of the Al₂O₃-coated layer.     

Facile synthesis of Fe@Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> core-shell nanowires as O<Subscript>2</Subscript> electrode for high-energy Li-O<Subscript>2</Subscript> batteries

Fe@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanowires were synthesized via the reduction of Fe³⁺ ions by sodium borohydride in an aqueous solution with a subsequent heat treatment to form Fe₂O₃ shell and employed as a cathode catalyst for non aqueous Li-air batteries. The synthesized core-shell nanowires with an average diameter of 50–100 nm manifest superior catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in Li-O₂ batteries with the charge voltage plateau reduced to ～3.8 V. An outstanding performance of cycling stability was also achieved with a cutoff specific capacity of 1000 milliampere hour per gram over 40 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g^?1. The excellent electrochemical properties of Fe@Fe₂O₃ as an O₂ electrode are ascribed to the high surface area of the nanowires’ structure and high electron conductivity. This study indicates that the resulting iron-containing nanostructures are promising catalyst in Li-O₂ batteries.     

Mn<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites as improved anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Mn₃O₄ and Mn₃O₄ (140)/CNTs have been investigated as high-capacity anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) applications. Nanoparticle Mn₃O₄ samples were synthesized by hydrothermal method using Mn(Ac)₂ and NH₃·H₂O as the raw materials and characterized by XRD, TG, EA, TEM, and SEM. Its electrochemical performances, as anode materials, were evaluated by galvanostatic discharge-charge tests. The Mn₃O₄ (140)/CNTs displays outstanding electrochemical performances, such as high initial capacity (1942 mAh g^?1), stable cycling performance (1088 mAh g^?1 and coulombic efficiency remain at 97% after 60 cycles) and great rate performance (recover 823 mAh g^?1 when return to initial current density after 44 cycles). Compared to pure Mn₃O₄ (140), the improving electrochemical performances can be attributed to the existence of very conductive CNTs. The Mn₃O₄ (140)/CNTs with excellent electrochemical properties might find applications as highly effective materials in electromagnetism, catalysis, microelectronic devices, etc. The process should also offer an effective and facile method to fabricate many other nanosized metallic oxide/CNTs nanocomposites for low-cost, high-capacity, and environmentally benign materials for LIBs.     

BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated spinel LiNi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> with improved electrochemical performance as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Spinel LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode material is a promising candidate for next-generation rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In this work, BiFeO₃-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ materials were prepared via a wet chemical method and the structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the materials were studied. The coating of BiFeO₃ has no significant impact on the crystal structure of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄. All BiFeO₃-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ materials exhibit cubic spinel structure with space group of Fd3m. Thin BiFeO₃ layers were successfully coated on the surface of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ particles. The coating of 1.0 wt% BiFeO₃ on the surface of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ exhibits a considerable enhancement in specific capacity, cyclic stability, and rate performance. The initial discharge capacity of 118.5 mAh g^?1 is obtained for 1.0 wt% BiFeO₃-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ with very high capacity retention of 89.11% at 0.1 C after 100 cycles. Meanwhile, 1.0 wt% BiFeO₃-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ electrode shows excellent rate performance with discharge capacities of 117.5, 110.2, 85.8, and 74.8 mAh g^?1 at 1, 2, 5, and 10 C, respectively, which is higher than that of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ (97.3, 90, 77.5, and 60.9 mAh g^?1, respectively). The surface coating of BiFeO₃ effectively decreases charge transfer resistance and inhibits side reactions between active materials and electrolyte and thus induces the improved electrochemical performance of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ materials.     

Sn-doped Li<Subscript>1.2</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>0.54</Subscript>Ni<Subscript>0.13</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.13</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries with enhanced electrochemical performance

Sn-doped Li-rich layered oxides of Li_1.2Mn_0.54-x Ni_0.13Co_0.13Sn _x O₂ have been synthesized via a sol-gel method, and their microstructure and electrochemical performance have been studied. The addition of Sn⁴⁺ ions has no distinct influence on the crystal structure of the materials. After doped with an appropriate amount of Sn⁴⁺, the electrochemical performance of Li_1.2Mn_0.54-x Ni_0.13Co_0.13Sn _x O₂ cathode materials is significantly enhanced. The optimal electrochemical performance is obtained at x = 0.01. The Li_1.2Mn_0.53Ni_0.13Co_0.13Sn_0.01O₂ electrode delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 268.9 mAh g^?1 with an initial coulombic efficiency of 76.5% and a reversible capacity of 199.8 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 C with capacity retention of 75.2% after 100 cycles. In addition, the Li_1.2Mn_0.53Ni_0.13Co_0.13Sn_0.01O₂ electrode exhibits the superior rate capability with discharge capacities of 239.8, 198.6, 164.4, 133.4, and 88.8 mAh g^?1 at 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 C, respectively, which are much higher than those of Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ (196.2, 153.5, 117.5, 92.7, and 43.8 mAh g^?1 at 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 C, respectively). The substitution of Sn⁴⁺ for Mn⁴⁺ enlarges the Li⁺ diffusion channels due to its larger ionic radius compared to Mn⁴⁺ and enhances the structural stability of Li-rich oxides, leading to the improved electrochemical performance in the Sn-doped Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ cathode materials.     

Electrospun Li<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript>/Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite nanofibers for enhanced high-rate lithium ion batteries

Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/Li₂TiO₃ composite nanofibers with the mean diameter of ca. 60 nm have been synthesized via facile electrospinning. When the molar ratio of Li to Ti is 4.8:5, the Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/Li₂TiO₃ composite nanofibers exhibit initial discharge capacity of 216.07 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 C, rate capability of 151 mAh g^?1 after being cycled at 20 C, and cycling stability of 122.93 mAh g^?1 after 1000 cycles at 20 C. Compared with pure Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanofibers and Li₂TiO₃ nanofibers, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/Li₂TiO₃ composite nanofibers show better performance when used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The enhanced electrochemical performances are explained by the incorporation of appropriate Li₂TiO₃ which could strengthen the structure stability of the hosted materials and has fast Li⁺-conductor characteristics, and the nanostructure of nanofibers which could offer high specific area between the active materials and electrolyte and shorten diffusion paths for ionic transport and electronic conduction. Our new findings provide an effective synthetic way to produce high-performance Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ anodes for lithium rechargeable batteries.     

Formation of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> bilayer using atomic layer deposition and its application to dynamic random access memory

To enhance film conformality together with electrical property suitable for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) capacitor dielectric, the effects of oxidant and post heat treatment were investigated on aluminum and titanium oxide (Al₂O₃–TiO₂) bilayer (ATO) thin film formed by atomic layer deposition method. For the conformal deposition of Al₂O₃ thin film, the O₃ oxidant required a higher deposition temperature, more than 450 °C, while H₂O or combined oxygen sources (H₂O+O₃) needed a wide range of deposition temperatures ranging from 250 to 450 °C. Conformal deposition of the TiO₂ thin film was achieved at around 325 °C regardless of the oxidants. The charge storage capacitance, measured from the ATO bilayer (4 nm Al₂O₃ and 2 nm TiO₂) deposited at 450 °C for Al₂O₃ and 325 °C for TiO₂ with O₃ oxidant on the phosphine-doped poly silicon trench, showed about 15% higher value than that of 5 nm Al₂O₃ single layer thin film without any increase of leakage current. To maintain the improved electrical property of the ATO bilayer for DRAM application, such as enhanced charge capacitance without increase of leakage current, upper electrode materials and post heat treatments after electrode formation must be selected carefully. Dedicated to Professor Su-Il Pyun on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

High effective electrocatalytic oxidation of cyclohexanol on stable Fe-Mn/Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> membrane electrode

A new composite electrode material with iron-manganic oxide coating (Fe-Mn/Mn₂O₃) was prepared, and its catalytic performance for oxidizing cyclohexanol was investigated in this work. The new electrode material, based on iron substrate covered with electrolytic manganese, was obtained by further coating the manganese surface with 50 % manganese nitrate solution and then conducting program thermal decomposition treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the surface crystal phase compositions, which were Mn and Mn₂O₃. The catalytic results showed an excellent electrocatalytic performance on the oxidation of cyclohexanol, and the main products were cyclohexanone and hexanedioic acid. According to our experiment results and the literature reports, the existence of mixed valent Mn^III and Mn^IV played a key role in the electrocatalytic oxidation process. A probable process was proposed: the Mn^IV seized the hydrogen from cyclohexanol, the resulting cyclohexaneoxy radical was oxidized into cyclohexanone, and then the absorbed cyclohexanone was further oxidized into hexanedioic acid.     

Co-precipitation spray-drying synthesis and electrochemical performance of stabilized LiNi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> cathode materials

In this paper, the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode materials of lithium-ion batteries are synthesized by a co-precipitation spray-drying and calcining process. The use of a spray-drying process to form particles, followed by a calcination treatment at the optimized temperature of 750 °C to produce spherical LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ particles with a cubic crystal structure, a specific surface area of 60.1 m² g^?1, a tap density of 1.15 g mL^?1, and a specific capacity of 132.9 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 C. The carbon nanofragment (CNF) additives, introduced into the spheres during the co-precipitation spray-drying period, greatly enhance the rate performance and cycling stability of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄. The sample with 1.0 wt.% CNF calcined at 750 °C exhibits a maximum capacity of 131.7 mAh g^?1 at 0.5 C and a capacity retention of 98.9% after 100 cycles. In addition, compared to the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ material without CNF, the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ with CNF demonstrates a high-rate capacity retention that increases from 69.1% to 95.2% after 100 cycles at 10 C, indicating an excellent rate capability. The usage of CNF and the synthetic method provide a promising choice for the synthesis of a stabilized LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode material.

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Graphical Abstract Micro/nanostructured LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₄ cathode materials with enhanced electrochemical performances for high voltage lithium-ion batteries are synthesized by a co-precipitation spray-drying and calcining routine and using carbon nanofragments (CNFs) as additive.

     

Preparation and electrochemical performance of nano-structured Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript> for supercapacitor

Nano-structured spinel Li₂Mn₄O₉ powder was prepared via a combustion method with hydrated lithium acetate (LiAc·2H₂O), manganese acetate (MnAc₂·4H₂O), and oxalic acid (C₂H₂O₄·2H₂O) as raw materials, followed by calcination of the precursor at 300 °C. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques. Electrochemical performance of the nano-Li₂Mn₄O₉ material was studied using cyclic voltammetry, ac impedance, and galvanostatic charge/discharge methods in 2 mol L⁻¹ LiNO₃ aqueous electrolyte. The results indicated that the nano-Li₂Mn₄O₉ material exhibited excellent electrochemical performance in terms of specific capacity, cycle life, and charge/discharge stability, as evidenced by the charge/discharge results. For example, specific capacitance of the single Li₂Mn₄O₉ electrode reached 407 F g⁻¹ at the scan rates of 5 mV s⁻¹. The capacitor, which is composed of activated carbon negative electrode and Li₂Mn₄O₉ positive electrode, also exhibits an excellent cycling performance in potential range of 0–1.6 V and keeps over 98% of the maximum capacitance even after 4,000 cycles.     

Electrochemical sensor using graphene/Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanosheets functionalized with garlic extract for the detection of lead ion

Based on the modulated electronic properties of Fe₃O₄-graphene (Fe₃O₄/GN composite) as well as the outstanding complexation between Pb²⁺ and natural substances garlic extract (GE), a novel electrochemical sensor for the determination of Pb²⁺ in wastewater was prepared by immobilization of Fe₃O₄/GN composite integrated with GE onto the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Fe₃O₄/GN composite was employed as an electrochemical active probe for enhancing electrical response by facilitating charge transfer while GE was used to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of the proposed sensor to Pb²⁺ assay. The electrochemical sensing performance toward Pb²⁺ was appraised by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Under the optimized condition, the sensor exhibited two dynamic linear ranges (LDR) including 0.001 to 0.5 nM and 0.5 to 1000 nM with excellent low detection limit (LOD) of 0.0123 pM (S/N =?3) and quantification limit (LOQ) of 0.41 pM (S/N =?10). Meanwhile, it displayed remarkable stability, reproducibility (RSD of 3.61%, n =?3), and selectivity toward the assay for the 100-fold higher concentration of other heavy metal ions. Furthermore, the novel sensor has been successfully employed to detect Pb²⁺ from real water samples with satisfactory results.     

Facile and scalable fabrication of graphene/polypyrrole/MnO<Subscript>x</Subscript>/Cu(OH)<Subscript>2</Subscript> composite for high-performance supercapacitors

In this study, to improve the specific capacitance of graphene-based supercapacitor, novel quadri composite of G/PPy/MnO_x/Cu(OH)₂ was synthesized by using a facile and inexpensive route. First, a two-step method consisting of thermal decomposition and in situ oxidative polymerization was employed to fabricate graphene/polypyrrole/manganese oxide composites. Second, Cu(OH)₂ nanowires were deposited on Cu foil. Afterwards, for the electrochemical measurements, composite powders were deposited on Cu(OH)₂/Cu foil substrate as working electrodes. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The XRD analysis revealed the formation of PPy/graphene, Mn₃O₄/graphene, and graphene/polypyrrole/MnO_x. In addition, the presence of polypyrrole and manganese oxides was confirmed using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies. Graphene/polypyrrole/MnO_x/Cu(OH)₂ electrode showed the best electrochemical performance and exhibited the largest specific capacitance of approximately 370 F/g at the scan rate of 10 mV/s in 6 M KOH electrolyte. In addition, other electrochemical measurements (charge–discharge, EIS and cyclical performance) of the G/Cu(OH)₂, G/PPy/Cu(OH)₂, G/Mn₃O₄/Cu(OH)₂, and G/PPy/MnO_x/Cu(OH)₂ electrodes suggested that the G/PPy/MnO_x/Cu(OH)₂ composite electrode is promising materials for supercapacitor application.     

Supercapacitive performance of homogeneous Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanotube arrays enhanced by carbon layer and oxygen vacancies

Self-supported and binder-free electrodes based on homogeneous Co₃O₄/TiO₂ nanotube arrays enhanced by carbon layer and oxygen vacancies (Co₃O₄/co-modified TiO₂ nanotube arrays (m-TNAs)) are prepared via a simple and cost-effective method in this paper. The highly ordered TNAs offer direct pathways for electron and ion transport and can be used as 3D substrate for the decoration of electroactive materials without any binders. Then, by a facile one-step calcination process, the electrochemical performance of the as-obtained carbon layer and oxygen vacancy m-TNAs is approximately 83 times higher than that of pristine TNAs. In addition, Co₃O₄ nanoparticles are uniformly deposited onto the m-TNAs by a universal chemical bath deposition (CBD) process to further improve the supercapacitive performance. Due to the synergistic effect of m-TNAs and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles, a maximum specific capacitance of 662.7 F g^?1 can be achieved, which is much higher than that of Co₃O₄ decorated on pristine TNAs (Co₃O₄/TNAs; 166.2 F g^?1). Furthermore, the specific capacitance retains 86.0 % of the initial capacitance after 4000 cycles under a high current density of 10 A g^?1, revealing the excellent long-term electrochemical cycling stability of Co₃O₄/m-TNAs. Thus, this kind of heterostructured Co₃O₄/m-TNAs could be considered as promising candidates for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.     

Effects of polyvinyl alcohol on the electrochemical performance of LiNi<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Al<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> cathode material

In view of the close relationship between the morphology of LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ (NCA) and its electrochemical performance, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was added to control the NCA morphology. And thus a new NCA cathode material modified by PVA (NCA-PVA) was prepared. The morphology and structure of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and laser diffraction. The electrochemical performance was characterized with electrochemical workstation and cell tester by assembling into CR2032 coin-type half-cell. The results show that the obtained NCA-PVA has a better layer structure and smaller cation mixing degree, smaller particle size, and more uniform particle size distribution than the pristine NCA without adding PVA. The electrochemical performance is also improved: the initial discharge capacity increases from 143.36 to 184.84 mAh g^?1. And the charge-discharge efficiency increases from 78.25 to 86.42%. The specific discharge capacities of NCA-PVA are all higher than that of the NCA (about 50 mAh g^?1) at all testing rates (0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 C).     

Nanofibers of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/C@MWCNTs as the cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanofibers (NFs) with a thin carbon layer of 3–5 nm, which wrapped on V₂O₅ nanoparticles, and integrated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been fabricated via simple electrospinning followed by carbonization process and post-sintering treatment. The obtained composite displays a NF structure with V₂O₅ nanoparticles connected to each other, and good electrochemical performance: delivering initial capacity of 320 mAh g^?1 (between 2.0 and 4.0 V vs. Li/Li⁺), good cycling stability (223 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles), and good rate performance (~?150 mAh g^?1 at 2 A g^?1). This can attribute to the carbon wrapped on the V₂O₅ nanoparticles which can not only enhance the electric conductivity to decrease the impendence of the cathode materials but also maintain the structural stability to protect the nanostructure from the corruption of electrolyte and the strain stress due to the Li-ion intercalation/deintercalation during the charge/discharge process. And, the added MWCNTs play the role of framework of the unique V₂O₅ coated by carbon layer and composited with MWCNT NFs (V₂O₅/C@MWCNT NFs) to ensure the material is more stable.     

Influence of ZnO coating on the structure,morphology and electrochemical performances for LiNi<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Co<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> material

In this paper, ZnO was applied to modify the surface of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ cathode material by a simple method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that both of the pristine material and the modified material were well crystallized and closely similar to each other. The crystal parameters of pristine material increased by modified measure. Scan electron microscope (SEM) pictures exhibit that the quasispherical pristine material was modified to the squareness one. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image clearly elucidates that ZnO (several nanometers to 20 nm) was successful coated on surface of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂. X-ray photo-electron spectrometry (XPS) is used to characterize the composite of the coating layer on the surface of modified material. Electrochemical performance results present that the ZnO coating layer decrease the initial capacities of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ by increasing the surface layer resistances. However, the cycling performance of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ was effectively improved by the ZnO coating layer.     

Permeation studies on transparent multiple hybrid SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-PMMA coatings-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> barriers on PEN substrates

In this work we report the performance of permeation barriers based on organic/inorganic multilayer stacks. We have used PMMA-SiO₂ (poly methyl methacrylate-silica) hybrid films synthesized through a sol–gel route as organic–inorganic components, whereas Al₂O₃ thin films were used as the inorganic component. The hybrid layers were deposited by dip coating and the Al₂O₃ by atomic layer deposition (ALD), films were prepared on polyethylene naphthalene (PEN) substrates. The permeability of the films and stacks is evaluated using helium as the diffusion gas in a custom made ultra-high vacuum system. The results show that permeability for PEN is reduced from 5 × 10⁻³ g/m²-day to about 9 × 10⁻⁵ g/m²-day for the best multiple barrier evaluated. Increased barrier properties are due to the increasing in the path and hence the lag-time of the permeating gas. In particular, we report the surface roughness of the different layers and its impact on the barrier performance. The hybrid layers reduced notably the roughness of the bare PEN substrate improving the quality of the Al₂O₃ layer in the barrier. The optical transmittance of the barriers in the visible region is higher than 80% in all the studied cases.     

Electrochemical dissolution of Mn<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> in acid solutions

The present study deals with the electrochemical reductive dissolution of Mn₃O₄, which was added to carbon-paste electroactive electrodes (CPEEs) in acid solutions. It was found that in the experimental conditions the thermodynamically stable form of manganese was . Kinetic features of the electrochemical reductive dissolution of Mn₃O₄, which was realized under potential cycling conditions (+1.0 V→−0.7 V→+1.0 V), were determined by the electrode polarization direction. It was shown that the cathodic reduction of Mn₃O₄ was accomplished in three stages. Manganese was dissolved in the supporting solution only at the third stage. The first two stages involved solid-phase reactions. The anodic cycling stage included an active dissolution of Mn₃O₄ and the lower manganese oxide (MnO) accumulated on the electrode surface during the cathodic reduction.     

Layered LiNi<Subscript>0.80</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Al<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> as cathode material for hybrid Li<Superscript>+</Superscript>/Na<Superscript>+</Superscript> batteries

LiNi_0.80Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ (NCA) is explored to be applied in a hybrid Li⁺/Na⁺ battery for the first time. The cell is constructed with NCA as the positive electrode, sodium metal as the negative electrode, and 1 M NaClO₄ solution as the electrolyte. It is found that during electrochemical cycling both Na⁺ and Li⁺ ions are reversibly intercalated into/de-intercalated from NCA crystal lattice. The detailed electrochemical process is systematically investigated by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, ex situ X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The NCA cathode can deliver initially a high capacity up to 174 mAh g^?1 and 95% coulombic efficiency under 0.1 C (1 C?=?120 mA g^?1) current rate between 1.5–4.1 V. It also shows excellent rate capability that reaches 92 mAh g^?1 at 10 C. Furthermore, this hybrid battery displays superior long-term cycle life with a capacity retention of 81% after 300 cycles in the voltage range from 2.0 to 4.0 V, offering a promising application in energy storage.     

Facile synthesis of LiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> microsheets with porous micro-nanostructure as high-rate cathode materials for Li-ion batteries

Porous LiMn₂O₄ microsheets with micro-nanostructure have been successfully prepared through a simple carbon gel-combustion process with a microporous membrane as hard template. The crystal structure, morphology, chemical composition, and surface analysis of the as-obtained LiMn₂O₄ microsheets are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). It can be found that the as-prepared LiMn₂O₄ sample presents the two-dimensional (2-D) sheet structure with porous structure comprised with nano-scaled particles. As cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the obtained LiMn₂O₄ microsheets show superior rate capacities and cycling performance at various charge/discharge rates. The LiMn₂O₄ microsheets exhibit a higher charge and discharge capacity of 137.0 and 134.7 mAh g^?1 in the first cycle at 0.5 C, and it remains 127.6 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles, which accounts for 94.7% discharge capacity retention. Even at 10 C rate, the electrode also delivers the discharge capacity of 91.0 mAh g^?1 after 300 cycles (93.5% capacity retention). The superior electrochemical properties of the LiMn₂O₄ microsheets could be attributed to the unique microsheets with porous micro-nanostructure, more active sites of the Li-ions insertion/deinsertion for the higher contact area between the LiMn₂O₄ nano-scaled particles and the electrolyte, and better kinetic properties, suggesting the applications of the sample in high-power lithium-ion batteries.