Fast charging enables batteries to rejuvenate in a fraction of time, which is critical for the next-generation energy storage devices. However, the increased security risks and capacity attenuation ...brought by fast charging seriously hinder the practical application of this technology. To address these issues, a novel gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) based on polyvinylene carbonate, poly (ethylene oxide), poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), and ionic liquid modified carbon nanotubes (IL-CNTs) has been successfully prepared by solution casting method. The complementary interactions between polycarbonate, polyether and IL-CNTs can effectively improve the transportation of lithium ion, thereby the ionic conductivity and lithium-ion transference number ameliorate to 0.71 mS cm−1 and 0.51, respectively at 30°C. On account of the mechanical strength enhancement function of IL-CNTs, the GPE exhibits an electrochemical window of 4.74 V, which adequately satisfies the match of GPE to various high-voltage cathodes. The LiFePO4 cell possesses a high retention ability of 85.6% after 1000 cycles at 4C and the initial discharge capacity reaches 111 mAh g−1. This work provides a valuable guideline for designing GPEs accommodating fast charging with long cycle life.
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•The complementary interactions of PVCA and PEO improve the ionic transportation.•IL-CNTs as a dopant reduces polymer crystallinity and improve mechanical strength.•CEIGPE membrane exhibited high ion conductivity of 7.1 × 10−4 S cm−1.•LiFePO4/CEIGPE/Li cell can stably cycle for 1000 times at fast charging rate of 4C.
Sabatier effect based adsorption-desorption coordination via cationized chitosan for enhancing ion kinetics and plating/stripping process on CGP @Zn anode.
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•An adsorption–desorption ...balanced coating called CGP@Zn is designed on zinc anodes.•The CGP@Zn anode enables a desirable reaction kinetics.•Performance of Zn-metal battery with this anode is investigated.
Interface engineering through a Sabatier effect-based adsorption–desorption coordination via cationized chitosan offers a promising approach to counteract dendritic growth, hydrogen evolution, and sluggish Zn2+ kinetics. The adsorption effect in zinc ion batteries is important for maintaining a balanced distribution of zinc ions and reducing dendrite formation. However, an excessive emphasis on the adsorption effect often neglects the desorption process of zinc ions, leading to a decrease in overall ion reaction kinetics. Herein, an adsorption–desorption synergic coating called CGP@Zn was systematically designed on zinc anodes to serve as both a Zn2+ adsorption and desorption regulator and a functional protective interface. The CGP@Zn coating exhibited zincophilic and negatively charged amino and hydroxy functional groups, which facilitated the transport of Zn2+ ions and repelled free SO42- anions. Moreover, the positively charged N+ component of the CGP@Zn coating exhibited a strong desorption effect, guaranteeing the voluble retransfer of Zn2+ and promoting intensive kinetics. Collaborating with the functional interface layer, the CGP@Zn anode demonstrated a significantly high ionic transfer number of 0.72. Furthermore, CGP@Zn symmetrical cells showed an impressive ultralong lifespan of over 5000 h with an extremely low polarization voltage of ≈80 mV at 1 mA cm−2 and 2 mAh cm−2. More encouragingly, the MnO2-based full batteries endowed with the CGP interface layer achieved a capacity of 206 mAh g -1 with a retention of 91.8 % over 500 cycles at 1C. This study offers a new perspective for designing high-performance aqueous batteries via coordination of adsorption–desorption.
Solubility of the quaternary system RbCl-EuCl
3
-HCl(13.44, 22.75%)-H
2
O at 298.15 K was determined and corresponding equilibrium diagrams were constructed. The quaternary system is simple, and ...consists of two equilibrium solid phases RbCl and EuCl
3
· 6H
2
O. The composition of double saturation point (average) is 13.29% HCl, 16.18% RbCl, and 18.72% EuCl
3
for the RbCl-EuCl
3
-HCl(13.44%)-H
2
O quaternary system, and 22.44% HCl, 15.59% RbCl, and 6.26% EuCl
3
for the RbCl-EuCl
3
-HCl (22.75%)-H
2
O quaternary system.
•A fluorine-free and double crosslinking network was prepared.•The nanocomposites exhibited 3-dimensional continuous structure.•The nanocomposites possessed superior durability under severe ...conditions.•Crosslinking structure improved the stability of nanocomposites.•The nanocomposites exhibits efficient oil–water emulsion separation ability.
Due to their exceptional anti-adsorption efficacy against a variety of contaminants, superhydrophobic materials have received extensive interest. However, the most of them continue to suffer from mechanical fragility and low chemical stability, which severely restrict their practical applicability. Here, hierarchical structure of polymer/inorganic (HSMP) nanocomposites (NCPs) with dual crosslinking and low surface energy are designed and prepared by ultraviolet-induced polymerization strategy. Owing to the existence of crosslinking structure reduces the deformation and swelling caused by the interaction between poly(dimethysiloxane) (PDMS) and organic solvents, while the strong adhesion to substrate. The hybrid NCPs exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity and mechanical durability after 630 cycles sandpaper scratch and 1000 cycles bending. In addition, the NCPs also possessed high chemical stability under various thermal/solvent environments. Meanwhile, with the excellent flexibility and their remarkable gap between water and oil wettability, the oil/water separation studies of HSMP NCPs demonstrated over 95% separation efficiency after 50 cycles. Crucially, the produced NCPs exhibited remarkable anti-fouling properties, making them difficult to pollute in exposure conditions, which is crucial for sustainable applications.
Lithium metal batteries have emerged as a promising candidate for next-generation power systems. However, the high reactivity of lithium metal with liquid electrolytes has resulted in decreased ...battery safety and stability, which poses a significant challenge. Herein, we present a modified laponite-supported gel polymer electrolyte (LAP@PDOL GPE) that was fabricated using in situ polymerization initiated by a redox-initiating system at ambient temperature. The LAP@PDOL GPE effectively facilitates the dissociation of lithium salts via electrostatic interaction and simultaneously constructs multiple lithium-ion transport channels within the gel polymer network. This hierarchical GPE demonstrates a remarkable ionic conductivity of 5.16 × 10–4 S cm–1 at 30 °C. Furthermore, the robust laponite component of the LAP@PDOL GPE forms a barrier against Li dendrite growth while also participating in the establishment of a stable electrode/electrolyte interface with Si-rich components. The in situ polymerization process further improves the interfacial contact, enabling the LiFePO4/LAP@PDOL GPE/Li cell to exhibit an impressive capacity of 137 mAh g–1 at 1C, with a capacity retention of 98.5% even after 400 cycles. In summary, the developed LAP@PDOL GPE shows great potential in addressing the critical issues of safety and stability associated with lithium metal batteries while also delivering improved electrochemical performance.
Lithium–sulfur (Li-S) batteries with exceptional theoretical capacities and environmentally friendly characteristics have been investigated as next-generation energy storage devices. However, the ...dissolution and diffusion of polysulfide result in a rapid capacity degeneration, which hinders their practical application. Here, poly(ionic liquid) (PIL)-based core–shell structured nanofibers, poly(pyrrole)@poly(ionic liquid)–polyacrylonitrile (PPy@PIL–PAN), were prepared via electrospinning and followed by a surface polymerization of pyrrole. The as-prepared PPy@PIL–PAN nanofibers were implemented as a functional interlayer for Li-S batteries, and it is found that the cationic poly(ionic liquid) framework could selectively adsorb polysulfide species in the electrolytes, contributing to effective shuttle inhibition as well as stable sulfur electrochemistry. Moreover, this work sheds light on an efficient approach to improving the performance of Li-S batteries by using PIL-based functional interlayers.
During the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) pandemic, traditional medical goggles are not only easy to attach bacteria and viruses in long-term exposure, but easy to fogged up, which increases ...the risk of infection and affects productivity. Bacterial adhesion and fog can be significantly inhibited through the hydrogel coatings, owing to super hydrophilic properties. On the one hand, hydrogel coatings are easy to absorb water and swell in wet environment, resulting in reduced mechanical properties, even peeling off. On the other hand, the hydrogel coatings don't have intrinsic antibacterial properties, which still poses a potential risk of bacterial transmission. Herein, an anti-swelling and antibacterial hydrogel coating is synthesized by 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), acrylamide (AM), dimethylaminoethyl acrylate bromoethane (IL-Br), and poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS). Due to the self-driven entropy reduction effect of polycation and polyanion, an ion cross-linking network is formed, which endows the hydrogel coating with excellent antiswelling performance. Moreover, because of the synergistic effect of highly hydrated surfaces and the active bactericidal effect from quaternary ammonium cations, the hydrogel coating exhibits outstanding antifouling performances. This work develops a facile strategy to fabricate anti-swelling, antifouling, and antifogging hydrogel coatings for the protection of medical goggles, and also for biomedical and marine antifouling fields.
The lithium sulfur battery is an attractive energy storage device because of its high theoretical capacity and energy density, but its lifetime is seriously limited by the shuttle effect of ...polysulfides. Herein, a rational design of vertical MoS2 nanosheets anchored on conductive carbon nanotubes through Mo–O–C covalent coupling is proposed. In this composite, the strong chemical interaction ensures rapid charge transfer at interfaces, while the sulfur-deficient and metallic 1T phase-containing MoS2 enhances the affinity with polysulfides and accelerates the reaction kinetics of polysulfide conversion. Benefitting from these merits, the composite serves as a coating layer on the separator in the lithium sulfur battery, leading to the impressive electrochemical performance of the initial capacities of 1291 mA h g–1 at 0.5 C and 1330 mA h g–1 at 0.2 C. The battery also shows an enhanced cycling stability with a low capacity fading rate of 0.089% per cycle after 500 cycles at 0.5 C.
Porous 2D N-doped carbon electrocatalyst consisting of atomically disperse Ni active centers with Ni-N4-O coordinated structure which act as efficient polysulfides traps and highly LiPSs conversion ...catalysts.
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Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high theoretical energy density are promising advanced energy storage devices. However, shuttling of dissolute lithium polysulfide (LiPSs) and sluggish conversion kinetics impede their applications. Herein, single nickel (Ni) atoms on two-dimensional (2D) nitrogen(N)-doped carbon with Ni-N4-O overcoordinated structure (SANi-N4-O/NC) are prepared and firstly used as a sulfur host of Li-S batteries. Due to the efficient polysulfides traps and highly LiPSs conversion effect of SANi-N4-O/NC, the electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries obviously improved. The batteries can well operate even under high sulfur loading (5.8 mg cm−2) and lean electrolyte (6.1 μL mg−1) condition. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that Ni single atom’s active sites decrease the energy barriers of conversion reactions from Li2S8 to Li2S due to the strong interaction between SANi-N4-O/NC and LiPSs. Thus, the kinetic conversion of LiPSs was accelerated and the shuttle effect is suppressed on SANi-N4-O/NC host. This study provides a new design strategy for a 2D structure with single-atom overcoordinated active sites to facilitate the fast kinetic conversion of LiPSs for Li-S cathode.
Nowadays, in the transition stage between the liquid electrolyte and solid electrolyte, the lean electrolyte strategy developed based on ceramic-polymer composite electrolytes (CPEs) has important ...practical significance to make up for their shortcomings and realize coordinated improvement of safety performance and electrochemical performance. However, the lean electrolyte CPE system is seriously limited by the contradiction between ion transport and swelling of polymer components in CPEs in practical applications. Polymers with high ionic conductivity tend to absorb the few liquid electrolytes and subsequently swell, resulting in reduced electrode wettability and electrical properties, while polymers that do not swell usually have poor ionic conductivity, reducing the intrinsic conductivity of CPEs. Herein, a binary solvophilic/solvophobic polymer network of CPEs is constructed under lean electrolyte condition. As a solvophilic segment, the urea-functionalized poly(propylene oxide) can not only improve the Li+ transport capacity but also form hydrogen bonds with the fluorine on the solvophobic poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF–TrFE) segment, thereby forming a hydrophobic composite network at the molecular scale. Then, the epoxidized Li1+x Al x Ti2–x (PO4)3 (LATP) is further cross-linked with the urea amino groups on the polymer chain. This can significantly inhibit swelling and improve the ion transmission performance, endowing lithium-metal batteries with excellent electrochemical properties.
