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.     

The review of advances in interfacial electrochemistry in Estonia: electrochemical double layer and adsorption studies for the development of electrochemical devices

The electrochemistry nowadays has many faces and challenges. Although the focus has shifted from fundamental electrochemistry to applied electrochemistry, one needs to acknowledge that it is impossible to develop and design novel green energy transition devices without a comprehensive understanding of the electrochemical processes at the electrode and electrolyte interface that define the performance mechanisms. The review gives an overview of the systematic research in the field of electrochemistry in Estonia which reflects on the excellent collaboration between fundamental and applied electrochemistry.

     

Unusual Inherent Electrochemistry of Graphene Oxides Prepared Using Permanganate Oxidants

Graphene and graphene oxides are materials of significant interest in electrochemical devices such as supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells, and sensors. Graphene oxides and reduced graphenes are typically prepared by oxidizing graphite in strong mineral acid mixtures with chlorate (Staudenmaier, Hofmann) or permanganate (Hummers, Tour) oxidants. Herein, we reveal that graphene oxides pose inherent electrochemistry, that is, they can be oxidized or reduced at relatively mild potentials (within the range ±1 V) that are lower than typical battery potentials. This inherent electrochemistry of graphene differs dramatically from that of the used oxidants. Graphene oxides prepared using chlorate exhibit chemically irreversible reductions, whereas graphene oxides prepared through permanganate‐based methods exhibit very unusual inherent chemically reversible electrochemistry of oxygen‐containing groups. Insight into the electrochemical behaviour was obtained through cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. Our findings are of extreme importance for the electrochemistry community as they reveal that electrode materials undergo cyclic changes in charge/discharge cycles, which has strong implications for energy‐storage and sensing devices.     

Spatial and Kinetic Regulation of Sulfur Electrochemistry on Semi-Immobilized Redox Mediators in Working Batteries

Use of redox mediators (RMs) is an effective strategy to enhance reaction kinetics of multi-electron sulfur electrochemistry. However, the soluble small-molecule RMs usually aggravate the internal shuttle and thus further reduce the battery efficiency and cyclability. A semi-immobilization strategy is now proposed for RM design to effectively regulate the sulfur electrochemistry while circumvent the inherent shuttle issue in a working battery. Small imide molecules as the model RMs were co-polymerized with moderate-chained polyether, rendering a semi-immobilized RM (PIPE) that is spatially restrained yet kinetically active. A small amount of PIPE (5 % in cathode) extended the cyclability of sulfur cathode from 37 to 190 cycles with 80 % capacity retention at 0.5 C. The semi-immobilization strategy helps to understand RM-assisted sulfur electrochemistry in alkali metal batteries and enlightens the chemical design of active additives for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.     

Spatial and Kinetic Regulation of Sulfur Electrochemistry on Semi‐Immobilized Redox Mediators in Working Batteries

Use of redox mediators (RMs) is an effective strategy to enhance reaction kinetics of multi‐electron sulfur electrochemistry. However, the soluble small‐molecule RMs usually aggravate the internal shuttle and thus further reduce the battery efficiency and cyclability. A semi‐immobilization strategy is now proposed for RM design to effectively regulate the sulfur electrochemistry while circumvent the inherent shuttle issue in a working battery. Small imide molecules as the model RMs were co‐polymerized with moderate‐chained polyether, rendering a semi‐immobilized RM (PIPE) that is spatially restrained yet kinetically active. A small amount of PIPE (5 % in cathode) extended the cyclability of sulfur cathode from 37 to 190 cycles with 80 % capacity retention at 0.5 C. The semi‐immobilization strategy helps to understand RM‐assisted sulfur electrochemistry in alkali metal batteries and enlightens the chemical design of active additives for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.     

《理论计算电化学》专辑序言

电化学是一门古老的科学,有着悠久、光辉的历史. 近年来,能源、环境等问题在世界范围内被大众广泛认识且越来越受到各国政府的重视,很多重要的能源体系和过程,如能量转化和存储、太阳能利用等,都是属于电化学所研究的范畴. 因此,电化学这门学科在近年来迸发出新兴的活力.     

Lithium–Sulfur Batteries under Lean Electrolyte Conditions: Challenges and Opportunities

The development of energy‐storage devices has received increasing attention as a transformative technology to realize a low‐carbon economy and sustainable energy supply. Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are considered to be one of the most promising next‐generation energy‐storage devices due to their ultrahigh energy density. Despite the extraordinary progress in the last few years, the actual energy density of Li–S batteries is still far from satisfactory to meet the demand for practical applications. Considering the sulfur electrochemistry is highly dependent on solid‐liquid‐solid multi‐phase conversion, the electrolyte amount plays a primary role in the practical performances of Li–S cells. Therefore, a lean electrolyte volume with low electrolyte/sulfur ratio is essential for practical Li–S batteries, yet under these conditions it is highly challenging to achieve acceptable electrochemical performances regarding sulfur kinetics, discharge capacity, Coulombic efficiency, and cycling stability especially for high‐sulfur‐loading cathodes. In this Review, the impact of the electrolyte/sulfur ratio on the actual energy density and the economic cost of Li–S batteries is addressed. Challenges and recent progress are presented in terms of the sulfur electrochemical processes: the dissolution–precipitation conversion and the solid–solid multi‐phasic transition. Finally, prospects of future lean‐electrolyte Li–S battery design and engineering are discussed.     

《碳纳米材料电化学》专辑序言 ——方兴未艾的电化学能量转换和存储先进材料和技术

可以预见,在相当一段时期内,能源和环境将是全球发展的两大主题. 其实,人类对能源的获取方式将对地球的生态环境和人类未来的生存状态和生活方式产生重要影响. 正因为如此,世界各国正在大力发展可再生能源和清洁能源. 电化学能源是将化学能高效转变为电能的一种能量转换方式,它历史悠久,但不断被改进和创新,尤其是近年来得到了较快的发展. 目前,电化学能源转换和存储器件主要包括一次电池（如锌锰电池等）、二次电池（如铅酸电池、镍氢电池、锂离子电池等）、燃料电池、金属-空气电池以及超级电容器等. 电化学能源和其它可再生能源相互补充、交叉利用将是未来清洁能源的主要发展方向.     

Reconstitution of supramolecular organization involved in energy metabolism at electrochemical interfaces for biosensing and bioenergy production

How the redox proteins and enzymes involved in bioenergetic pathways are organized is a relevant fundamental question, but our understanding of this is still incomplete. This review provides a critical examination of the electrochemical tools developed in recent years to obtain knowledge of the intramolecular and intermolecular electron transfer processes involved in metabolic pathways. Furthermore, better understanding of the electron transfer processes associated with energy metabolism will provide the basis for the rational design of biotechnological devices such as electrochemical biosensors, enzymatic and microbial fuel cells, and hydrogen production factories. Starting from the redox complexes involved in two relevant bacterial chains, i.e., from the hyperthermophile Aquifex aeolicus and the acidophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, examination of protein–protein interactions using electrochemistry is first reviewed, with a focus on the orientation of a protein on an electrochemical interface mimic of a physiological interaction between two partners. Special attention is paid to current research in the electrochemistry of essential membrane proteins, which is one mandatory step toward the understanding of energy metabolic pathways. The complex and challenging architectures built to reconstitute a membrane-like environment at an electrode are especially considered. The role played by electrochemistry in the attempt to consider full bacterial metabolism is finally emphasized through the study of whole cells immobilized at electrodes as suspensions or biofilms. Before the performances of biotechnological devices can be further improved to make them really attractive, questions remain to be addressed in this particular field of research. We discuss the bottlenecks that need to be overcome in the future.     

中空碳球合成方法及其电化学应用进展

中空碳球由于具有大的比表面积、良好的导电性以及高的化学稳定性等优异性能,现已被广泛地用于电化学储能、电化学催化和电化学传感领域。基于此,本文主要概述了中空碳球的各种合成方法及在电化学领域的研究进展,并对该领域面临的挑战及未来的发展方向进行了讨论。     

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.     

碳布负载氢氧化镍电极材料的合成及其电容性能分析——推荐一个综合化学实验

作为超级电容器的电极材料,Ni(OH)₂具有理论比电容高、来源丰富、环境友好等优点,但较低的电导率影响了其实际性能。解决该问题的一种有效方法是在碳布导电基底上原位生长Ni(OH)₂薄膜。以此为基础设计综合化学实验,通过Ni(OH)₂/碳布薄膜电极的制备、表征及电化学性能测试,使学生进一步理解化学平衡原理在材料合成中的应用,了解材料的基本表征方法,掌握循环伏安法、恒流充放电法等电化学分析方法在实际测试中的运用与解析,从而达到巩固电化学理论知识、培养学生的实验技能、提高学生综合实验能力的目的。本实验的开展还可以帮助学生了解储能领域的科技前沿,激发学生的科研兴趣,培养学生的科研创新意识,适合在大学化学实验中推广应用。     

Recent Advances in Porous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Climate change and the energy crisis have promoted the rapid development of electrochemical energy‐storage devices. Owing to many intriguing physicochemical properties, such as excellent chemical stability, high electronic conductivity, and a large specific surface area, porous carbon materials have always been considering as a promising candidate for electrochemical energy storage. To date, a wide variety of porous carbon materials based upon molecular design, pore control, and compositional tailoring have been proposed for energy‐storage applications. This focus review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis of various porous carbon materials from the view of energy storage, particularly in the past three years. Their applications in representative electrochemical energy‐storage devices, such as lithium‐ion batteries, supercapacitors, and lithium‐ion hybrid capacitors, are discussed in this review, with a look forward to offer some inspiration and guidelines for the exploitation of advanced carbon‐based energy‐storage materials.     

Conjugated Molecules and Polymers in Secondary Batteries: A Perspective

Intrinsically conducting polymers constituting a subclass of macromolecules, as well as a still growing family of large, conjugated molecules, oligomers, and polymers, have attracted research interest for the recent decades. Closely corresponding to the fascination of these materials, combining typical properties of organic polymers and metallic materials, numerous applications have been suggested, explored, and sometimes transferred into products. In electrochemistry, they have been used in various functions beyond the initially proposed and obvious application as active masses in devices for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. This perspective contribution wraps up basic facts that are necessary to understand the behavior and properties of the oligo and polymers and their behavior in electrochemical cells for energy conversion by electrode reactions and associated energy storage. Representative examples are presented and discussed, and an overview of the state of research and development is provided. Particular attention is paid to stability and related aspects of practical importance. Future trends and perspectives are indicated.     

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...     

Architected porous metals in electrochemical energy storage

Porous metallic structures are regularly used in electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices as supports, current collectors, or active electrode materials. Bulk metal porosification, dealloying, welding, or chemical synthesis routes involving crystal growth or self-assembly, for example, can sometimes provide limited control of porous length scale, ordering, periodicity, reproducibility, porosity, and surface area. Additive manufacturing has shown the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of architected metals, allowing complex geometries not usually possible by traditional methods, by enabling complete design freedom of a porous metal based on the required physical or chemical property to be exploited. We discuss properties of porous metal structures in EES devices and provide some opinions on how architected metals may alleviate issues with electrochemically active porous metal current collectors, and provide opportunities for optimum design based on electrochemical characteristics required by batteries, supercapacitors or other electrochemical devices.     

Halide Layer Cathodes for Compatible and Fast-Charged Halides-Based All-Solid-State Li Metal Batteries

Insertion-type compounds based on oxides and sulfides have been widely identified and well-studied as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries. However, halides have rarely been used due to their high solubility in organic liquid electrolytes. Here, we reveal the insertion electrochemistry of VX₃ (X=Cl, Br, I) by introducing a compatible halide solid-state electrolyte with a wide electrochemical stability window. X-ray absorption near-edge structure analyses reveal a two-step lithiation process and the structural transition of typical VCl₃. Fast Li⁺ insertion/extraction in the layered VX₃ active materials and favorable interface guaranteed by the compatible electrode-electrolyte design enables high rate capability and stable operation of all-solid-state Li-VX₃ batteries. The findings from this study will contribute to developing intercalation insertion electrochemistry of halide materials and exploring novel electrode materials in viable energy storage systems.     

石墨炔纳米材料的制备及在电化学能源中的应用

石墨炔纳米材料的制备与应用是石墨炔材料研究的重要方向, 通过对其纳米结构进行设计与优化, 可以提高石墨炔材料及其杂化结构的性能, 拓展其在能源储存与转换领域的应用. 本综述介绍了不同形貌和结构的石墨炔基纳米材料, 如纳米墙、 纳米片、 纳米薄膜等结构. 阐述了不同结构特征的石墨炔基纳米材料在电化学储能器件以及电化学能源催化中的应用, 同时也探讨了石墨炔不同纳米形貌和结构在能源应用领域快速发展的机遇及所面临的挑战.     

Energy Storage Technologies Based on Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: A Review

Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry - Modern design approaches to electric energy storage devices based on nanostructured electrode materials, in particular, electrochemical double layer...     

新型二维纳米材料在电化学领域的应用与发展

以石墨烯为代表的新型二维纳米材料具有独特的结构和优异的电子特性,在电化学各领域具有巨大的应用潜力。 本综述总结了新型二维纳米材料在电化学各领域(能源存储、能源转化和电化学传感)的研究现状和存在的问题。 展望了二维纳米材料在电化学领域的发展趋势。