Beyond the Polysulfide Shuttle and Lithium Dendrite Formation: Addressing the Sluggish Sulfur Redox Kinetics for Practical High-Energy Li-S Batteries

Electrolyte modulation simultaneously suppresses polysulfide the shuttle effect and lithium dendrite formation of lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, the sluggish S redox kinetics, especially under high S loading and lean electrolyte operation, has been ignored, which dramatically limits the cycle life and energy density of practical Li-S pouch cells. Herein, we demonstrate that a rational combination of selenium doping, core–shell hollow host structure, and fluorinated ether electrolytes enables ultrastable Li stripping/plating and essentially no polysulfide shuttle as well as fast redox kinetics. Thus, high areal capacity (>4 mAh cm⁻²) with excellent cycle stability and Coulombic efficiency were both demonstrated in Li metal anode and thick S cathode (4.5 mg cm⁻²) with a low electrolyte/sulfur ratio (10 μL mg⁻¹). This research further demonstrates a durable Li-Se/S pouch cell with high specific capacity, validating the potential practical applications.     

The Stabilization Effect of CO2 in Lithium–Oxygen/CO2 Batteries

The lithium (Li)–air battery has an ultrahigh theoretical specific energy, however, even in pure oxygen (O₂), the vulnerability of conventional organic electrolytes and carbon cathodes towards reaction intermediates, especially O₂⁻, and corrosive oxidation and crack/pulverization of Li metal anode lead to poor cycling stability of the Li-air battery. Even worse, the water and/or CO₂ in air bring parasitic reactions and safety issues. Therefore, applying such systems in open-air environment is challenging. Herein, contrary to previous assertions, we have found that CO₂ can improve the stability of both anode and electrolyte, and a high-performance rechargeable Li–O₂/CO₂ battery is developed. The CO₂ not only facilitates the in situ formation of a passivated protective Li₂CO₃ film on the Li anode, but also restrains side reactions involving electrolyte and cathode by capturing O₂⁻. Moreover, the Pd/CNT catalyst in the cathode can extend the battery lifespan by effectively tuning the product morphology and catalyzing the decomposition of Li₂CO₃. The Li–O₂/CO₂ battery achieves a full discharge capacity of 6628 mAh g⁻¹ and a long life of 715 cycles, which is even better than those of pure Li–O₂ batteries.     

Measurement of lithium diffusion coefficient in thin metallic multilayer by neutron depth profiling

Diffusion of Li ions in thin sandwich films with copper or lead encompassing layers (obtained by ion beam sputtering deposition technique) has been studied. These metals are promising candidates for electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. It is because they exhibit an ability to store and release Li ions during charging and discharging processes. Lithium diffusion was induced in samples by thermal annealing cycles. The lithium depth profile was measured using a nondestructive neutron depth profiling technique after each thermal annealing step. The analysis of experimental data allowed to evaluate the lithium depth profiles and directly calculate the diffusion coefficients.     

二次包覆法制备煤沥青基硅/碳复合物及其锂离子电池性能

本文采用市售纳米硅为硅源,以软化点低、得碳率高、价格便宜的煤沥青作为碳源,通过两步包覆法制备了煤沥青基硅/碳(Si/C/C)复合物,并研究其作为锂离子电池负极材料的电化学性能。 结果表明,所得复合物的粒径在300~350 nm间,Si纳米粒子被C包覆并相互连结成C-Si-C网络结构,其中Si含量为27%的硅/碳复合物(Si/C/C-27%)作为锂电池电极材料表现了良好的储锂性能。 在0.1 A/g的小电流密度下,Si/C/C-27%的放电比容量为1281 mA·h/g;在3 A/g的大电流密度下,其放电比容量仍能保持在582 mA·h/g,表现了良好的倍率性能。Si/C/C-27%在2 A/g的电流密度下经过100次的循环后其比容量保持率为76.61%,表现了良好的循环稳定性。 相比于煤沥青基碳的一次包覆所得的硅/碳复合材料(Si/C),Si/C/C有效提高了Si纳米粒子的导电性并抑制了其在嵌锂和脱锂过程中的体积膨胀。 本文提出的二次包覆的新方法为制备具有优异电化学性能的锂离子电池负极材料提供了新的研究思路。     

金属硫化物在可充电电池中的研究进展

低成本、长寿命、高安全性、高性能且易于大规模生产的锂/钠离子电池已被证实为重要的二次储能设备。 电极材料对锂/钠电池性能与循环寿命影响极大,金属硫化物由于具有高比容量和低电势而极具潜力成为锂/钠离子电池负极材料。 在电化学循环过程中,由于金属硫化物容易产生穿梭效应和体积变化,从而电极材料结构被破坏,进一步导致电池容量衰退、稳定性降低。 本文总结了多种金属硫化物的微观结构调控策略,从三维空间构建到与其它材料的复合,增强了电极的导电性和减缓体积变化带来的负面影响,进而获得性能优异的金属硫化物负极材料。 通过对金属硫化物的结构与性能的讨论,对其研究前景进行了积极的展望。     

铝掺杂及钨酸锂表面包覆双效提升富锂锰基正极材料的循环稳定性

采用溶胶-凝胶法合成Al掺杂富锂锰基Li_1.2Mn_0.54-xAl_xNi_0.13Co_0.13O₂（x=0、0.03）锂离子电池正极材料,之后采用一步液相法制备Li₂WO₄包覆层,系统地研究了Al掺杂和Li₂WO₄包覆双效改性对富锂锰基正极材料电化学性能的影响.结果表明,Al掺杂后明显提升富锂锰基正极材料的循环稳定性,包覆层Li₂WO₄明显改善其倍率性能和放电平台电压衰减问题.Li₂WO₄包覆量为5% Li_1.2Mn_0.51Al_0.03Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂正极材料在2.0~4.8 V充放电电压区间及1000 mA·g^-1电流密度下比容量仍高达110 mAh·g^-1左右,同时在100 mA·g^-1的电流密度下循环300次容量保持率为78%,而且循环过程中放电平台电压衰减也明显减缓.该工作为解决锂离子电池富锂锰基正极材料循环稳定性和平台电压衰减提供了新的思路.     

磷酸锂原位包覆富锂锰基锂离子电池正极材料

本工作通过“碳酸盐共沉淀-沉淀转化-固相反应”方法,实现磷酸锂原位包覆和改性富锂锰基锂离子电池正极材料Li_1.2Mn_0.54Co_0.13Ni_0.13O₂,研究了磷酸锂包覆层的形成过程及其对电化学性能的影响.结果显示,碳酸盐前驱体经沉淀转化反应原位形成磷酸镍包覆层,与锂源混合煅烧,最终转化为厚度小于30 nm的磷酸锂包覆层.该材料组装的半电池在125 mAh·g^-1电流密度下循环175圈后容量达191.1 mAh·g^-1,容量保持率为81.8%,平均每圈电压衰减仅为1.09 mV.磷酸锂包覆层缓解了材料表面与电解液之间的副反应,抑制了不可逆相变和过渡金属溶出,同时磷酸锂作为锂离子导体促进锂离子传输.本工作表明沉淀转化法原位包覆磷酸锂是提升富锂锰基正极材料性能的有效途径.     

多孔金属有机框架材料作为锂金属负极保护层助力长寿命锂氧气电池

在众多能源储存系统中,锂氧气电池以其高达3500 Wh·kg^-1的理论能量密度有望在性能上超越商用锂离子电池.然而,在电池充放电过程中,金属锂不可控的枝晶生长和严重的腐蚀问题极大地阻碍了锂氧气电池的发展.为了解决以上问题,制备了一种具有高比表面积、丰富孔道结构的金属有机框架材料（MOF-801）,并将其设计成金属锂负极的保护层应用在锂氧气电池中.在本工作中,成功合成了具有高达762.9 m²·g^-1比表面积,边长约为800 nm的立方体状纯净MOF-801材料.并且这种材料表现出对于有机电解液体系（四乙二醇二甲醚1 mol·L^-1三氟甲基磺酸锂）和强还原性的金属锂都具有很好的稳定性.得益于该材料丰富的孔道结构以及高比表面积,锂离子得以更均匀地分布在电极表面促进金属锂均匀沉积,有效避免了由于枝晶刺破隔膜而导致的短路甚至火灾事故.此外,MOF-801保护层本身的阻隔作用和材料捕捉水的特性可以帮助减少污染物质（水、氧气、强氧化性物质等）的穿梭效应带来的副反应,缓解锂氧气电池中金属锂负极的腐蚀情况.因此,将经过保护的金属锂组装成的对称电池进行测试,循环寿命长达800 h,同时充/放电过电势仅为0.023 V（未经保护的电池寿命仅为254 h,最终充/放电过电势高达5 V）,且循环阻抗大大降低,证明了这种策略有效地稳定了金属锂/电解液界面.将经过MOF材料保护的电极实际应用在锂氧气电池中,在限容量1000 mAh·g^-1,限电流500 mA·g^-1条件下,可以实现长达170圈的稳定长寿命的循环（是未经保护的电池寿命的2.88倍）.使用MOF-801保护层的锂氧气电池还表现出了高达8935 mAh·g^-1的高比容量.因此,本工作所报道的保护层策略为未来的碱金属空气电池负极保护领域提供了新颖的视角.     

Pathways to Triplet or Singlet Oxygen during the Dissociation of Alkali Metal Superoxides: Insights by Multireference Calculations of Molecular Model Systems

Recent experimental investigations demonstrated the generation of singlet oxygen during charging at high potentials in lithium/oxygen batteries. To contribute to the understanding of the underlying chemical reactions a key step in the mechanism of the charging process, namely, the dissociation of the intermediate lithium superoxide to oxygen and lithium, was investigated. Therefore, the corresponding dissociation paths of the molecular model system lithium superoxide (LiO₂) were studied by CASSCF/CASPT2 calculations. The obtained results indicate the presence of different dissociation paths over crossing points of different electronic states, which lead either to the energetically preferred generation of triplet oxygen or the energetically higher lying formation of singlet oxygen. The dissociation to the corresponding superoxide anion is energetically less preferred. The understanding of the detailed reaction mechanism allows the design of strategies to avoid the formation of singlet oxygen and thus to potentially minimize the degradation of materials in alkali metal/oxygen batteries. The calculations demonstrate a qualitatively similar but energetically shifted behavior for the homologous alkali metals sodium and potassium and their superoxide species. Fundamental differences were found for the covalently bound hydroperoxyl radical.     

Stereoselective Csp3−Csp2 Cross‐Couplings of Chiral Secondary Alkylzinc Reagents with Alkenyl and Aryl Halides

We report palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions of chiral secondary non‐stabilized dialkylzinc reagents, prepared from readily available chiral secondary alkyl iodides, with alkenyl and aryl halides. This method provides α‐chiral alkenes and arenes with very high retention of configuration (dr up to 98:2) and satisfactory overall yields (up to 76 % for 3 reaction steps). The configurational stability of these chiral non‐stabilized dialkylzinc reagents was determined and exceeded several hours at 25 °C. DFT calculations were performed to rationalize the stereoretention during the catalytic cycle. Furthermore, the cross‐coupling reaction was applied in an efficient total synthesis of the sesquiterpenes (S)‐ and (R)‐curcumene with control of the absolute stereochemistry.