Magnesium-Based Clusters as Building Blocks of Electrolytes in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Superhalogens, owing to their large electron affinity (EA, exceeding those of any halogen atom), play an essential role in physical chemistry as well as new material design. They have applications in hydrogen storage and lithium-ion batteries. Owing to the unique geometries and electronic features of magnesium-based clusters, their potential to form a new class of lithium salts has been investigated here theoretically. The idea is assessed by conducting ab initio computations on Li⁺/Mg_nF_2n+1-2mO_m⁻ compounds (n=2, 3; m=0-3) and analyzing their performance as potential Li-ion battery electrolytes. The Mg₃F₇⁻ cluster, with large electron binding energy (EA of 7.93 eV), has been proven to serve as a building block for lithium salts. It is shown that, apart from high electronic stability, the new superhalogen-based electrolytes exhibit a set of desirable properties, including a large band gap, high electrolyte stability window, easy mobility of the Li⁺, and favorable insensitivity to water.     

New strategy for reversal tolerant anode for automotive polymer electrolyte fuel cell

New approach for the reversal tolerant anode for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is suggested by using the multifunctional IrRu alloy catalyst having concurrent superior activities towards hydrogen oxidation reaction and oxygen evolution reaction to mitigate the degradation of anode under the fuel starvation condition.     

Improvement of capacitance activity for Cu‐doped Ni‐based metal–organic frameworks by adding potassium hexacyanoferrate into KOH electrolyte

Cu‐doped Ni‐based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) nanomaterials fabricated through a one‐pot hydrothermal reaction were characterized, and their performance as supercapacitor electrode materials was further studied for the first time. The results indicated that the doping of foreign metals and the introduction of K₃[Fe(CN)₆] in the KOH electrolyte significantly improve the performance of the supercapacitor. The results indicated that the Ni_2.6Cu_0.4 MOFs material shows the highest specific capacitance (1282 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 in mixed 2 M KOH and 0.1 M K₃[Fe(CN)₆]) and optimal capacitance retention (85.7% after 2000 cycles). This work provides a feasible optimization strategy for the construction of MOFs‐based supercapacitor electrode materials with excellent performance, and also provides a reliable experimental and theoretical basis for practical industrial production.     

Printed Circuit Board-Based Electrolyte Regulator for Laminar Microfluidics

The trench on a printed circuit board was reconstructed to fabricate a microfluidic framework that allows low-cost production for small quantities and integration with multifunctional elements. An on-chip electrolyte regulator was thus proposed on this platform to analyze diffusion properties in laminar flow. A numerical model was developed, highlighting the interplay between the electrolyte migration and hydrodynamic properties. Solutions with dissolved sodium chloride were simulated and experimentally tested for the regulation of electrical conductivity under the guidance of the normalized Nernst-Planck equation. The diffusion mechanism and the resulting concentration field were demonstrated in detail. This approach provides a satisfactory manufacturing method and a useful tool for integrated microfluidic systems.     

Effect of external electric field on the terahertz transmission characteristics of electrolyte solutions

We fabricated a microfluidic chip with simple structure and good sealing performance, and studied the influence of the electric field on THz absorption intensity of liquid samples treated at different times by using THz time domain spectroscopy system. The tested liquids were deionised water and CuSO₄, CuCl₂, NaHCO₃, Na₂CO₃ and NaCl solutions. The transmission intensity of the THz wave increases as the standing time of the electrolyte solution in the electric field increases. The applied electric field alters the dipole moment of water molecules in the electrolyte solution, which affects the vibration and rotation of the whole water molecules, breaks the hydrogen bonds in the water, increases the number of single water molecules and leads to the enhancement of the THz transmission spectrum.     

Investigation of electrochemical performance of MgNiO2 prepared by sol-gel synthesis route for aqueous-based supercapacitor application

In this work, we have successfully synthesized MgNiO₂ using a sol-gel wet chemical synthesis technique named MNO - 3. Electrochemical measurements in the presence of aqueous 1 M Li₂SO₄ electrolyte indicate that MNO - 3 samples exhibit a capacitance value of about 30 F/g and an energy density of about 20 Wh/kg. Subsequently, in the experiment involving aqueous 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte system, it has been found that the capacitance for MNO - 3 sample is about 34 F/g and the energy density is about 23 Wh/kg for MNO - 3 sample. Finally, in the presence of aqueous-based 1 M Mg(ClO₄)₂ electrolyte, MNO - 3 sample is found to exhibit a capacitance of about 26 F/g and an energy density of about 17 Wh/kg, respectively. In all three electrolyte systems, the MNO -3 sample exhibit a long cycle capacitance retention of greater than 85% for 1000 charge-discharge cycles.     

Brush‐First ROMP of poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomers of varied length: impact of polymer architecture on thermal behavior and Li+ conductivity

The properties of polymeric materials are dictated not only by their composition but also by their molecular architecture. Here, by employing brush‐first ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), norbornene‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) macromonomers ( MM‐n , linear architecture), bottlebrush polymers ( Brush‐n , comb architecture), and brush‐arm star polymers ( BASP‐n , star architecture), where n indicates the average degree of polymerization (DP) of PEO, are synthesized. The impact of architecture on the thermal properties and Li⁺ conductivities for this series of PEO architectures is investigated. Notably, in polymers bearing PEO with the highest degree of polymerization, irrespective of differences in architecture and molecular weight (~100‐fold differences), electrolytes with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) as an Li⁺ source exhibit normalized ionic conductivities (σ_n) within only 4.9 times difference (σ_n = 29.8 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 for MM‐45 and σ_n = 6.07 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 for BASP‐45 ) at a concentration of Li⁺ r = [Li⁺]/[EO] = 1/12 at 50 °C. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 448–455     

The Core/Shell Structure P Doped MoS2@Ni3S2 Nanorods Array for High Current Density Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline and Acidic Electrolyte

Electrocatalysis is the most promising strategy to generate clean energy H₂, and the development of catalysts with excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance at high current density that can resist strong alkaline and acidic electrolyte environment is of great significance for practical industrial application. Therefore, a P doped MoS₂@Ni₃S₂ nanorods array (named P-NiMoS) was successfully synthesized through successive sulfuration and phosphorization. P-NiMoS presents a core/shell structure with a heterojunction between MoS₂ (shell) and Ni₃S₂ (core). Furthermore, the doping of P modulates the electronic structure of the P-NiMoS; the electrons transfer from the t_2g orbital of Ni element to the e_g empty orbital of Mo element through the Ni−S−Mo bond at the Ni₃S₂ and MoS₂ heterojunction, facilitating the hydrogen evolution reaction. As a result, P-NiMoS exhibits excellent HER activity; the overpotential is 290 mV at high current density of 250 mA cm⁻² in alkaline electrolyte, which is close to Pt/C (282 mV@250 mA cm⁻²), and P-NiMoS can stably evolve hydrogen for 48 h.     

卤化物固态电解质研究进展

全固态电池因其高能量密度和高安全性而成为具有发展前景的下一代储能技术。开发具有高室温离子电导率、优异化学/电化学稳定性、良好正/负极兼容性的固态电解质是实现全固态电池实用化的关键。卤化物固态电解质因其优异的电化学窗口、高正极稳定性、可接受的室温锂离子电导率等优势,受到了广泛的关注。本文通过对近年来卤化物电解质的相关研究进行总结,综述了该类电解质的组成、结构、离子传导路径及制备方法,并分析了金属卤化物电解质的电导率、稳定性特点,归纳了近年来该电解质在全固态电池中具有代表性的应用,并基于以上总结和分析,指出了卤化物固态电解质的研究难点及发展方向。