A 3D Nanostructured Hydrogel‐Framework‐Derived High‐Performance Composite Polymer Lithium‐Ion Electrolyte

Solid‐state electrolytes have emerged as a promising alternative to existing liquid electrolytes for next generation Li‐ion batteries for better safety and stability. Of various types of solid electrolytes, composite polymer electrolytes exhibit acceptable Li‐ion conductivity due to the interaction between nanofillers and polymer. Nevertheless, the agglomeration of nanofillers at high concentration has been a major obstacle for improving Li‐ion conductivity. In this study, we designed a three‐dimensional (3D) nanostructured hydrogel‐derived Li_0.35La_0.55TiO₃ (LLTO) framework, which was used as a 3D nanofiller for high‐performance composite polymer Li‐ion electrolyte. The systematic percolation study revealed that the pre‐percolating structure of LLTO framework improved Li‐ion conductivity to 8.8×10^?5 S cm^?1 at room temperature.     

An Aluminum–Sulfur Battery with a Fast Kinetic Response

The electrochemical performance of the aluminum‐sulfur (Al‐S) battery has very poor reversibility and a low charge/discharge current density owing to slow kinetic processes determined by an inevitable dissociation reaction from Al₂Cl₇^? to free Al³⁺. Al₂Cl₆Br^? was used instead of Al₂Cl₇^? as the dissociation reaction reagent. A 15‐fold faster reaction rate of Al₂Cl₆Br^? dissociation than that of Al₂Cl₇^? was confirmed by density function theory calculations and the Arrhenius equation. This accelerated dissociation reaction was experimentally verified by the increase of exchange current density during Al electro‐deposition. Using Al₂Cl₆Br^? instead of Al₂Cl₇^?, a kinetically accelerated Al‐S battery has a sulfur utilization of more than 80 %, with at least four times the sulfur content and five times the current density than that of previous work.     

Catholyte‐Free Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Formate

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into value‐added chemicals is a promising strategy to reduce CO₂ emission and mitigate climate change. One of the most serious problems in electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) is the low solubility of CO₂ in an aqueous electrolyte, which significantly limits the cathodic reaction rate. This paper proposes a facile method of catholyte‐free electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction to avoid the solubility limitation using commercial tin nanoparticles as a cathode catalyst. Interestingly, as the reaction temperature rises from 303 K to 363 K, the partial current density (PCD) of formate improves more than two times with 52.9 mA cm^?2, despite the decrease in CO₂ solubility. Furthermore, a significantly high formate concentration of 41.5 g L^?1 is obtained as a one‐path product at 343 K with high PCD (51.7 mA cm^?2) and high Faradaic efficiency (93.3 %) via continuous operation in a full flow cell at a low cell voltage of 2.2 V.     

Solid‐State Electrolyte Anchored with a Carboxylated Azo Compound for All‐Solid‐State Lithium Batteries

Organic electrode materials are promising for green and sustainable lithium‐ion batteries. However, the high solubility of organic materials in the liquid electrolyte results in the shuttle reaction and fast capacity decay. Herein, azo compounds are firstly applied in all‐solid‐state lithium batteries (ASSLB) to suppress the dissolution challenge. Due to the high compatibility of azobenzene (AB) based compounds to Li₃PS₄ (LPS) solid electrolyte, the LPS solid electrolyte is used to prevent the dissolution and shuttle reaction of AB. To maintain the low interface resistance during the large volume change upon cycling, a carboxylate group is added into AB to provide 4‐(phenylazo) benzoic acid lithium salt (PBALS), which could bond with LPS solid electrolyte via the ionic bonding between oxygen in PBALS and lithium ion in LPS. The ionic bonding between the active material and solid electrolyte stabilizes the contact interface and enables the stable cycle life of PBALS in ASSLB.     

Simultaneous Stabilization of Potassium Metal and Superoxide in K–O2 Batteries on the Basis of Electrolyte Reactivity

In superoxide batteries based on O₂/O₂^? redox chemistry, identifying an electrolyte to stabilize both the alkali metal and its superoxide remains challenging owing to their reactivity towards the electrolyte components. Bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI^?) has been recognized as a “magic anion” for passivating alkali metals. The KFSI–dimethoxyethane electrolyte passivates the potassium metal anode by cleavage of S?F bonds and the formation of a KF‐rich solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI). However, the KFSI salt is chemically unstable owing to nucleophilic attack by superoxide and/or hydroxide species. On the other hand, potassium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide (KTFSI) is stable to KO₂, but results in mossy potassium deposits and irreversible plating and stripping. To circumvent this dilemma, we developed an artificial SEI for the metal anode and thus long‐cycle‐life K–O₂ batteries. This study will guide the development of stable electrolytes and artificial SEIs for metal–O₂ batteries.     

A Stable Quasi‐Solid‐State Sodium–Sulfur Battery

Ambient‐temperature sodium–sulfur (Na–S) batteries are considered a promising energy storage system due to their high theoretical energy density and low costs. However, great challenges remain in achieving a high rechargeable capacity and long cycle life. Herein we report a stable quasi‐solid‐state Na‐S battery enabled by a poly(S‐pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETEA))‐based cathode and a (PETEA‐tris[2‐(acryloyloxy)ethyl] isocyanurate (THEICTA))‐based gel polymer electrolyte. The polymeric sulfur electrode strongly anchors sulfur through chemical binding and inhibits the shuttle effect. Meanwhile, the in situ formed polymer electrolyte with high ionic conductivity and enhanced safety successfully stabilizes the Na anode/electrolyte interface, and simultaneously immobilizes soluble Na polysulfides. The as‐developed quasi‐solid‐state Na‐S cells exhibit a high reversible capacity of 877 mA h g^?1 at 0.1 C and an extended cycling stability.     

Methanol oxidation in acidic and alkaline electrolytes using PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts prepared by borohydride reduction process

PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts( 20% metal loading by weight) were prepared by sodium borohydride reduction process using H_2PtCl6·6H_2O,RuCl_3·xH_2O and InCl_3·xH_2O as metal sources,borohydride as reducing agent and Carbon Vulcan XC72 as support. The synthetized PtRuIn/C electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction( XRD),energy dispersive analysis( EDX),transmission electron microscopy( TEM),cyclic voltammetry( CV),chronoamperommetry( CA) and polarization curves in alkaline and acidic electrolytes( single cell experiments). The XRD patterns showPtpeaks are attributed to the face-centered cubic( fcc) structure,and a shift of Pt( fcc) peaks indicates that Ru or In is incorporated into Ptlattice. TEMmicrographs showmetal nanoparticles with an average nanoparticle size between 2.7 and 3.5 nm. Methanol oxidation in acidic and alkaline electrolytes was investigated at room temperature,by CV and CA. PtRu/C( 50 ∶ 50) shows the highest activity among all electrocatalysts in study considering methanol oxidation for acidic and alkaline electrolyte. Polarization curves at 80 ℃ showPtRuIn/C( 50 ∶ 25 ∶ 25)with superior performance for methanol oxidation,when compared to Pt/C,PtIn/C and PtRu/C for both electrolytes. The best performance obtained by PtRuIn/C( 50 ∶ 25 ∶ 25) in real conditions could be associated with the increased kinetics reaction and/or with the occurrence simultaneously of the bifunctional mechanism and electronic effect resulting from the presence of Ptalloy.     

The role of the solvent in equilibrium and kinetic aspects of metal chelate extractions

Equilibria and kinetics for the extraction of nickel(II) and copper(II) by 2-hydroxy-5-nonylbenzophenone oxime (LIX 65N) in seven organic solvent systems were studied in order to test the validity of several hypotheses related to the role of the solvent in equilibrium and kinetic aspects of metal chelate extraction. For the nickel—LIX 65N system, the extraction constant is essentially independent of the solvent system, whereas for the copper—LIX 65N system, the extraction constant is not independent of solvent; this indicates that while the stoichiometry of the nickel chelate remains the same in all solvents, that of copper does not. The observed rate constant for the nickel—LIX 65N extraction was found to vary inversely with the LIX 65N distribution constant as predicted from a mechanism involving slow formation of the 1:1 complex. The observed reaction rate constant for the copper—LIX 65N varied inversely with the square of the distribution constant, also in accordance with the previously postulated mechanism of the slow formation of the 2:1 copper complex. This study, therefore, unequivocally eliminates the interfacial mechanism in favor of the homogeneous chemical reaction mechanism for the extraction of metal ions by LIX 65N, as well as by other similar high-molecular-weight extractants.