A study of the gasification of carbon black with molten salt of Li2CO3 and K2CO3 for application in the external anode media of a direct carbon fuel cell

The characteristics of gasification reactions for carbon–carbonate mixtures were experimentally investigated at high temperatures up to 900 °C, considering the application of the mixtures to the external anode media of a direct carbon fuel cell. A thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted in either a nitrogen or carbon dioxide ambient environment for Li₂CO₃, K₂CO₃ and a mixture of these two substances with carbon black. Changes in the exit gas composition were also monitored during the heating process. It was shown that gasification in the mixture media occurs much more rapidly than carbonate decomposition at elevated temperatures, even for low concentrations of CO₂. It was also shown that the loading of carbonates to carbon significantly affects the global gasification reaction; it increased the reaction rate by an order of magnitude and decreased its activation energy. Based on the experimental observations, a simplified reaction model of gasification was suggested for the anode media of a DCFC, regarding carbonate-catalysed and metal-catalysed pathways of Boudouard reactions.     

Hierarchical Mesoporous SnO Microspheres as High Capacity Anode Materials for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Mesoporous SnO microspheres were synthesised by a hydrothermal method using NaSO₄ as the morphology directing agent. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analyses showed that SnO microspheres consist of nanosheets with a thickness of about 20 nm. Each nanosheet contains a mesoporous structure with a pore size of approximately 5 nm. When applied as anode materials in Na‐ion batteries, SnO microspheres exhibited high reversible sodium storage capacity, good cyclability and a satisfactory high rate performance. Through ex situ XRD analysis, it was found that Na⁺ ions first insert themselves into SnO crystals, and then react with SnO to generate crystalline Sn, followed by Na–Sn alloying with the formation of crystalline NaSn₂ phase. During the charge process, there are two slopes corresponding to the de‐alloying of Na–Sn compounds and oxidisation of Sn, respectively. The high sodium storage capacity and good electrochemical performance could be ascribed to the unique hierarchical mesoporous architecture of SnO microspheres.     

Colloidal Nanocrystals of Lithiated Group 14 Elements

The synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) of lithiated group 14 elements (Z=Si, Ge, and Sn) is reported, which are Li_4.4Si, Li_3.75Si, Li_4.4Ge, and Li_4.4Sn. Li_xZ compounds are highly reactive and cannot be synthesized by existing methods. The success relied on separating the surface protection from the crystal formation and using a unique passivating ligand. Bare Li_xZ crystals were first produced by milling elemental Li and Z in an argon‐filled jar. Then, under the assistance of additional milling, hexyllithium was added to passivate the freshly generated Li_xZ NCs. This ball‐milling‐assisted surface protection method may be generalized to similar systems, such as Na_xZ and K_xZ. Moreover, Li_4.4Si and Li_4.4Ge NCs were conformally encapsulated in carbon fibers, providing great opportunities for studying the potential of using Li_xZ to mitigate the volume‐fluctuation‐induced poor cyclability problem confronted by Z anodes in lithium‐ion batteries.     

涂碳铝箔对磷酸铁锂电池性能影响研究

本文研究了使用涂碳铝箔作为正极集流体磷酸铁锂电池的性能。研究对比了使用普通铝箔和涂层铝箔的10 Ah软包磷酸铁锂电池的主要性能。研究表明:使用涂层铝箔不但可以提高磷酸铁锂材料的粘结性,而且使用导电涂层可以有效降低正极材料和集流体的接触内阻,从而减小电池内阻,提高电池倍率性能。与使用普通铝箔作为集流体相比,通过使用涂碳铝箔可以使得电池的内阻降低65%左右,但是,磷酸铁锂正极材料的克容量却偏低约5~10 mAh·g-1,首次效率也偏低4%左右;在快速放电15C倍率下,使用涂碳铝箔的电芯比使用普通铝箔容量提高约15%左右,10C放电倍率下,平台增加0.3~0.4 V;使用涂碳铝箔电芯的常温自放电率较高,但容量恢复率也较高;550周循环下,使用涂碳铝箔可以使得电池的循环性能提高约1%。而在电池低温性能方面,使用涂碳铝箔对低温性能并无改善。     

Interconnected sandwich structure carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In the present work,an interconnected sandwich carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite was prepared by template method and carbon thermal vapor deposition（TVD）.The carbon conductive layer can not only efficiently improve the electronic conductivity of Si-based anode,but also play a key role in alleviating the negative effect from huge volume expansion over discharge/charge of Si-based anode.The resulting material delivered a reversible capacity of 1094 mAh/g,and exhibited excellent cycling stability.It kept a reversible capacity of 1050 mAh/g over 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 96%.     

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.     

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.     

A Perspective: the Technical Barriers of Zn Metal Batteries

Energy storage will witness a leap of understanding of new battery chemistries.Considering the safety that cannot be compromised,new aqueous batteries may surface as the solutions to meet the immense market needs,where the growth of renewables is no longer limited by the lack of storage.Aqueous Zn-metal batteries are intriguing candidates to deliver the desirable properties and exhibit competitive levelized energy cost.However,the fact that most commercial Zn batteries are primary batteries states the difficulty of reversibility for the reactions of electrodes in such batteries.This article will highlight the practical needs that guide the development of storage batteries.The causes of irreversibility for both cathode and zinc metal anode are discussed,and the potential solutions for these challenges are summarized.Zn metal batteries may one day address the storage needs,and there exists a vast potential to further improve the properties of reactions in this battery.     

中空核壳结构Ni1.2Co0.8P@N-C钠离子电池负极材料的制备及拉曼研究

本文设计制备了一种新型的氮掺杂碳包覆镍钴双金属磷化物中空核壳结构纳米立方体(Ni_1.2Co_0.8P@N-C)作为钠离子电池负极材料. 该材料以镍钴类普鲁士蓝(PBA)纳米粒子为模板,先后经水热法、磷化法和高温碳化处理后合成. 将其作为活性材料应用在钠离子电池中,该材料展现出优异的循环稳定性,当以100 mA·g^-1的电流密度循环至200圈时,该材料的库仑效率保持在99.3%. 进一步通过对不同电位下Ni_1.2Co_0.8P@N-C材料中的氮掺杂碳进行原位拉曼光谱测试,结果显示钠离子在氮掺杂的碳壳中的脱嵌行为具有较大程度的可逆性,研究结果对钠离子电池充放电过程的后续电化学研究提供了有价值的信息.     

Ni3S2@碳纳米管复合材料的制备及其储钠性能

采用一步固相煅烧工艺制备了碳纳米管原位封装Ni₃S₂纳米颗粒（Ni₃S₂@CNT）,并研究了其作为钠离子电池（SIBs）负极材料的电化学性能. 通过X射线衍射（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、循环伏安测试、恒流充放电以及交流阻抗等研究了Ni₃S₂@CNT的物相结构、形貌特征以及电化学性能. 电化学测试表明,材料在100 mA·g ^-1电流密度下,放电容量可以达到541.6 mAh·g ^-1,甚至在2000 mA·g ^-1的大电流密度下其放电比容量也可以维持在274.5 mAh·g ^-1. 另外,材料在100 mA·g ^-1电流密度下,经过120周充放电循环后其放电和充电比容量仍然可以保持在374.5 mAh·g ^-1和359.3 mAh·g ^-1,说明其具有良好倍率性能和循环稳定性能. 良好的电化学性能归因于这种独特的碳纳米管原位封装Ni₃S₂纳米颗粒结构. 碳纳米管不但可以提高复合材料的导电性,也可以缓冲Ni₃S₂纳米颗粒在反复充放电过程中产生的体积膨胀效应,明显改善了Ni₃S₂@CNT负极复合材料的电化学性能.