scholarly journals Sodium Induced Morphological Changes of Carbon Coated TiO2 Anatase Nanoparticles – High-Performance Materials for Na-Ion Batteries

MRS Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (43) ◽  
pp. 2221-2229
Author(s):  
G. Greco ◽  
S. Passerini

AbstractThe most promising candidate as an everyday alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are sodium-ion batteries (NIBs). This is not only due to Na abundance, but also because the main principles and cell structure are very similar to LIBs. Due to these benefits, NIBs are expected to be used in applications related to large-scale energy storage systems and other applications not requiring top-performance in terms of volumetric capacity. One important issue that has hindered the large scale application of NIBs is the anode material. Graphite and silicon, which have been widely applied as anodes in NIBs, do not show great performance. Hard carbons look very promising in terms of their abundance and low cost, but they tend to suffer from instability, in particular over the long term. In this work we explore a carbon-coated TiO2 nanoparticle system that looks very promising in terms of stability, abundance, low-cost, and most importantly that safety of the cell, since it does not suffer from potential sodium plating during cycling. Maintaining a nano-size and consistent morphology of the active material is a crucial parameter for maintaining a well-functioning cell upon cycling. In this work we applied Anomalous Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (ASAXS) for the first time at the Ti K-edge of TiO2 anatase nanoparticles on different cycled composite electrodes in order to have a complete morphological overview of the modifications induced by sodiation and desodiation. This work also demonstrates for the first time that the nanosize of the TiO2 is maintained upon cycling, which is in agreement with the electrochemical stability.

Carbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 158-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangqiang Chen ◽  
Peite Bao ◽  
Linda Xiao ◽  
Guoxiu Wang

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (20) ◽  
pp. 10942-10948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Weng ◽  
Qingqing Wu ◽  
Qian Sun ◽  
Xin Fang ◽  
Guozhen Guan ◽  
...  

Failure mechanism is investigated for the first time in a Si-based fiber-shaped electrode. The interphase electrical contact resistance indicates the dominant failure mechanism, which is the loss of contact between the current collector/conductive network and the active material. The decreasing contact resistance denotes the loose interphase contact and a decreasing capacity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 724 ◽  
pp. 87-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Su Kim ◽  
Yong Hoon Cho ◽  
Kyoung Soo Park ◽  
Soon Ki Jeong ◽  
Yang Soo Kim

We investigated the electrochemical properties of carbon-coated niobium dioxide (NbO2) as a negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-coated NbO2 powders were synthesized by ball-milling using carbon nanotubes as the carbon source. The carbon-coated NbO2 samples were of smaller particle size compared to the pristine NbO2 samples. The carbon layers were coated non-uniformly on the NbO2 surface. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that the inter-layer distances increased after carbon coating by ball-milling. This lead to decreased charge-transfer resistance, confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, allowing electrons and lithium-ions to quickly transfer between the active material and electrolyte. Electrochemical performance, including capacity and initial coulombic efficiency, was therefore improved by carbon coating by ball-milling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2076 (1) ◽  
pp. 012060
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Yang ◽  
Ling Tong ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Baoguo Zhang ◽  
Zhiyuan Liao ◽  
...  

Abstract Silicon nanostructures are attracting growing attention due to their properties and promising application prospects in solar energy conversion and storage devices, thermoelectric devices, lithium-ion batteries, and biosensing technologies. The large-scale and low-cost preparation of silicon nanostructures is critical for silicon-based advanced functional devices commercialization. In this paper, the feasibility and mechanism of silicon nanostructure fabricated by non-metallic carbon catalytic etching, as well as the currently existing problems and future development trend are reviewed.


Author(s):  
Sen Yang ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
Yiwei Tan

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) that serve as low-cost and large-scale secondary batteries are regarded as promising alternatives and supplement to lithium-ion batteries. Hybrid active materials can be featured with the synergistic...


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9158
Author(s):  
Xiaomiao Tan ◽  
Jiangyu Zhu ◽  
Minato Wakisaka

The development of efficient, environmentally friendly, low-cost approaches used to boost the growth of microalgae is urgently required to meet the increasing demands for food supplements, cosmetics, and biofuels. In this study, the growth promotion effects of protocatechuic acid (PCA) in the freshwater microalga Euglena gracilis were confirmed for the first time. PCA is a simple phenolic compound derived from natural plants and has a range of biological functions. The highest biomass yield, 3.1-fold higher than that of the control, used at 1.3 g·L−1, was obtained at 800 mg·L−1 of PCA. The yields of the metabolites chlorophyll a, carotenoids, and paramylon in the presence of PCA at 800 mg·L−1 were 3.1, 3.3, and 1.7 times higher than those of the control group, respectively. The highest paramylon yield was achieved at a lower dosage of PCA (100 mg·L−1), which is considered to be feasible for economic paramylon production. The growth and biosynthesis of metabolites stimulated by phytochemicals such as PCA could be an efficient and cost-effective strategy to enhance the productivity of microalgae in large-scale cultivations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Christophe Daigle ◽  
Yuichiro Asakawa ◽  
Mélanie Beaupré ◽  
Vincent Gariépy ◽  
René Vieillette ◽  
...  

AbstractLithium titanium oxide (Li4Ti5O12)-based cells are a promising technology for ultra-fast charge-discharge and long life-cycle batteries. However, the surface reactivity of Li4Ti5O12 and lack of electronic conductivity still remains problematic. One of the approaches toward mitigating these problems is the use of carbon-coated particles. In this study, we report the development of an economical, eco-friendly, and scalable method of making a homogenous 3D network coating of N-doped carbons. Our method makes it possible, for the first time, to fill the pores of secondary particles with carbons; we reveal that it is possible to cover each primary nanoparticle. This unique approach permits the creation of lithium-ion batteries with outstanding performances during ultra-fast charging (4C and 10C), and demonstrates an excellent ability to inhibit the degradation of cells over time at 1C and 45 °C. Furthermore, using this method, we can eliminate the addition of conductive carbons during electrode preparation, and significantly increase the energy density (by weight) of the anode.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1189-1197
Author(s):  
Naresh Duvva ◽  
Suneel Gangada ◽  
Raghu Chitta ◽  
Lingamallu Giribabu

Limited synthetic steps via low-cost starting materials are needed to develop large-scale light-active materials for efficient solar cells. Here, novel bis(4[Formula: see text]-tert-butylbiphenyl-4-yl)aniline (BBA) based A3B zinc porphyrin (GB) is synthesized and applied as a light harvesting/electron injection material in dye-sensitized solar cells. The GB sensitizer was characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and the optimized device shows [Formula: see text] of 10.98 ± 0.37 mA/cm2 and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.34 ± 0.26%. In addition, performance is enhanced up to ∼3.9% by the addition of co-adsorbent 3a,7a-dihydroxy-5b-cholic acid (chenodeoxycholic acid, CDCA) to minimize [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] staking of the planar porphyrin macrocycles. These results demonstrate that novel broad-absorbing light-active material (GB) could be used for indoor solar panels.


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