bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Freestanding, Binder-Free Metal Sulfide Nanotubes Array As High Efficient Cathode for High Performance Lithium-O2 Batteries
Authors: Wang Jin , Fu Yue , Yu Hai-Yang , Zhang Chenjie , Yao Jianlin , Li Jian-Feng , Li Xiaowei , Tian Jing-Hua , Yang Ruizhi 
Published: February 2020

Lithium-O2 battery as a novel energy conversion and storage device has attracted increasing attention [1]. However, it’s still facing great challenges for practical applications, including of large over potentials, poor cycling life [2]. Many reports have shown that a suitable cathode catalyst may could solve these problems [3]. Herein, metal sulfide (NiCo2S4) nanotube arrays on carbon paper were synthesized through a two-step hydrothermal method and then applied as a freestanding, binder-free cathode for lithium-O2 batteries directly. This novel air electrode could deliver a high initial discharge capacity of 12348.5 mAh g-1 with coulomb efficiency of 88.9% (Fig. 1a). Specifically, the discharge/charge over-potentials gap has been reduced to 0.73V, which is much lower than that of the counterpart metal oxide catalyst (NiCo2O4 NWs, 1.24 V)(Fig. 1b). Furthermore, this NiCo2S4 NTs@CFPs air electrode shows excellent long cycling life (485 cycles). This novel air electrode also exhibited great stability and reversibility. Interestingly, the discharge product of the air electrode with NiCo2S4 NTs is film-like amorphous Li2O2, which owns higher charge-transport properties and could be decomposed at a much lower potential than the common crystalline Li2O2. The excellent cell performances could be ascribed to the intrinsic properties of NiCo2S4, including high electrical conductivity and redox activity, the special hollow nanotubes structure, which could provide larger specific surface area and more active sites as well as enough space to accommodate the discharge products. The numerous pores distributed on the nanotube wall could also facilitate the transport of oxygen and electrolyte during the cell operation. This novel freestanding, binder-free air electrode sheds light on the application of metal sulfides not only on Lithium-air batteries, but also other metal-air batteries and fuel cells.
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (21673153, 21303114，51272167 and 51572181 ), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFB0100200), Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province, China (15KJB480001) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (BK20161207).

References:

1. Bruce P.G., Freunberger S.A., Hardwick L.J., Tarascon J.M. (2012). Li-O2 and Li-S batteries with high energy storage. Nat. Mater., 11, 19-29.
2. Li F.J., Zhang T., Zhou H.S. (2013). Challenges of non-aqueous Li-O2 batteries: electrolytes, catalysts, and anodes. Energy Environ. Sci., 6, 1125-1141.
3. Shao Y.Y., Park S., Xiao J., Zhang J.-G., Wang Y., Liu J. (2012). Electrocatalysts for nonaqueous lithium-air batteries: status, challenges, and perspective. ACS Catal., 2, 844-857.

Figure 1
Chemical Formation of Self-Healing Solid Electrolyte Layers on Lithium Anode
Authors: Lim Hee-Dae , Lee Byeongsun , Xing Xing , Liu Ping 
Published: February 2020

All solid state batteries have potential to solve safety issues over the current state of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to the absence of flammable organic electrolytes [1,2]. Among many components of them, solid electrolyte layer is considered as a key factor enabling all solid chemistries, which can enable high energy density and stable post LIBs. Further, the mechanical strength of solid electrolyte can suppress lithium dendrite growth during cycling and its stable interface can prevent the continuous side reactions caused by organic electrolytes. Finally, solid electrolyte can be a promising solution for the prevailing shuttle problem of post Li-S batteries [3].
Solid electrolytes have so far failed to achieve its great promise and the practical use of all solid batteries have been restricted due to their poor stability and complex synthesis process. Indeed, it has been observed that the penetration of dendrite through the electrolyte layer of mm level thickness lead to a cell failure. Furthermore, fabrication methods for solid electrolyte developed so far are expensive and complex, which commonly requires repeated high temperature heat treatments and compression under high pressure. These limitations are major huddles for current solid electrolyte and all-solid batteries.
Here, we propose a new approach to develop a self-forming and -healing solid electrolyte that can be fabricated by solution processing. We target to form the LPS (Li2S-P2S5) electrolyte layer directly on lithium through the in-situ formation of the solid electrolyte layer, which can eliminate both the complex synthesis process used for the conventional sold electrolytes and the need for high temperature sintering process. Furthermore, by the addition of an oxidant in the solution layer, lithium dendrite growth, even if it ever penetrates the LPS layer, can be prevented, serving as a self-healing mechanism. This design can greatly simplify cell fabrication process of solid electrolyte and the inherent self-healing capabilities can offer a new path for post Li batteries with performance advantage over LIBs.
[1] P. G. Bruce et al., Nat. Mater. 2012, 11, 19-29.
[2] X. Ji et al., Nat. Mater. 2009, 8, 500-506.
[3] Z. Lin et al., J. Maters. Chem. A 2015, 3, 936-958.
Behavior of Manganese-Rich Layered Sodium Oxides in Aqueous Electrolytes
Authors: Boyd Shelby , Augustyn Veronica 
Published: February 2020

Aqueous sodium-ion batteries operating in neutral pH electrolytes offer the potential for low cost, low toxicity, high safety, and high power density energy storage for large-scale applications, such as those needed to store electricity from renewable energy sources. However, the mechanisms of ion intercalation into solid-state electrodes operating in neutral pH aqueous electrolytes are not well understood. Layered, Mn-rich sodium oxides are promising electrode materials because of the abundance and safety of manganese. Initial studies of the moisture-stable, layered P2-type oxide, NaxNi0.22Mn0.66Co0.11O2 (NaNMC) show an irreversible phase transition to a hydrated birnessite-like structure during electrochemical cycling in aqueous electrolytes with approximately 25 mAh/g reversible capacity. This work investigates the transformation mechanism of the NaNMC through ex situ X-ray diffraction, in situ Raman spectroscopy, and ex situ transmission electron microscopy. A systematic investigation is then conducted on the effect of transition metal doping in NaNMC to reduce the amount of Ni and Co, and to tune the redox potential and capacity for electrochemical cycling in aqueous electrolytes. In addition, aqueous solutions with both high and low salt concentrations are investigated to determine the effect of the electrolyte on the electrochemical behavior of layered sodium oxides
Sulphate-Based Cathode Materials for Potassium-Ion Battery
Authors: Masese Titus , Sano Hikaru , Senoh Hiroshi , Shikano Masahiro 
Published: February 2020

The dominance of the lithium-ion battery in energy storage systems has been met with concerns over dwindling lithium resources and rising cost. A pragmatic alternative can be found in potassium-ion batteries owing to the abundance, lower cost and sustainable production and use of potassium-based cathode materials for largescale energy applications. Therefore, similar to the lithium chemistry, various potassium-based oxides (e.g., K
x
CoO2 [1], K0.7Fe0.5Mn0.5O2 [2] and K0.27MnO2 [3]) have recently been reported. Parallel to the oxides, a number of polyanion insertion cathode materials have been discovered with credible electrochemical performance (e.g., K3V2(PO4)3[4]). However, unlike the oxides, these polyanionic cathodes inherently suffer from lower theoretical capacity stemming from their high molecular weight, thus decreasing the net energy density. Whilst their capacity is moderate, polyanionic systems offer rich mineral and structural diversity to design potassium-based materials with tunable redox potentials.
In this work, we explored the vast materials database of sulphate-based insertion materials for potassium-ion batteries. Apart from containing economic and Earth-abundant elements, sulphate-based minerals can, in principle, exhibit high theoretical capacities owing to their low molecular weight. In our exploration of the sulphate chemistry for potassium-ion batteries, we are able to take advantage of an extensive database of known minerals, particularly the bimetallic and hydrated sulphate derivatives such as karpovite, alunite, fedotovite K2Cu3O(SO4)2, langbeinite (K2M2(SO4)3; M=Fe, Mn, Cu, Co, Ni), picromerite, mereiterite, etc. One such mineral is goldichite, with the general chemical formula K2M(SO4)2・nH2O. Noting that its structure contained possible K-ion diffusion channels, we attempted to design a yavapaiite insertion compound for potassium batteries. We will highlight the syntheses and electrochemical performance in K-ion cells of such sulphate-based minerals.

Reference
s
:

[1] Y. Hironaka, K. Kubota and S. Komaba, Chem. Commun., 53 (2017) 3693.
[2] X. Wang, X. Xu, C. Niu, J. Meng, M. Huang, X. Liu, Z. Liu and L. Mai, Nano Lett., 17 (2017) 544-550.

[3] C. Vaalma, G. A. Giffin, D. Buchholz and S. Passerini, J. Electrochem. Soc., 163 (2016) A1295-A1299.
[4] J. Han, G. –N. Li, F. Liu, M. Wang, Y. Zhang, L. Hu, C. Dai and M. Xu, Chem. Commun., 53 (2017) 1805-1808.

Figure 1
Suppression of O3/P3 Phase Transition for Nanosize NaCrO2 with Enriched Domain Boundaries in Individual Particle
Authors: Tsuchiya Yuka , Glushenkov Alexey , Yabuuchi Naoaki 
Published: February 2020

Rechargeable Na batteries are promising to realize sustainable energy development in the future because of the material abundance, and many electrode materials have been actively researched in the world. O3-type NaCrO2
1, 2 is known to show excellent cycle performance and thermal stability3. Additionally, O3 NaCrO2 shows second highest operating voltage among O3-type layered oxides, next to O3 NaFeO2. O3-type layered oxides translate into P3-type layered structure after removing Na from the layered structure. Such phase transitions result in large volume changes associated with increase in interlayer distance because of large repulsive interaction between MeO2 layers. The deterioration of cyclability associated with O3/P3 transitions is, therefore, anticipated as electrode materials.
In this study, nanosize NaCrO2 with enriched domain boundaries in individual particle was synthesized from nanosize cation-disordered rocksalt-type NaCrO2 prepared by mechanical milling. The sample delivers large reversible capacity without voltage plateaus associated with phase transitions as shown in Figure 1a. Ex-situ XRD data clearly indicates that the O3/P3 phase transition is effectively suppressed on charge/discharge processes. High-resolution TEM imaging shows that micrometer-size secondary particles consist of highly crystalline nanosize NaCrO2 particles. These nanosize domains are randomly aligned in the individual particle. We propose that randomly aligned particles with many grain boundaries cancel and suppress gliding of transition metal layers. Moreover, nanosize NaCrO2 shows better capacity retention in Na cells (Figure 1b) on the long-term cycle test.
From these results, we will further discuss the factors affecting phase transitions for O3-type layered structure as positive electrode materials of rechargeable Na batteries for more details.

Acknowledgements

This study was in part granted by MEXT program “Elements Strategy Initiative to Form Core Research Center”, MEXT; Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. High-resolution TEM work was carried out with the support from Deakin Advanced Characterization Facility. A.M.G. acknowledges the funding support from Australian Research Council Discovery grant DP160101178.

References

[1] J. J. Braconnier, C. Delmas, and P. Hagenmuller, Materials Research Bullentin,
17, 993 (1982).
[2] S. Komaba et al., Electrochemistry Communications,
12, 355 (2010).
[3] X. Xia, J. R. Dahn, Electrochem. Solid-State Lett.,
15 , A1 (2011).
[4] N Yabuuchi, K Kubota, M Dahbi, S Komaba, Chemical Reviews, 114, 11636 (2014).

Figure 1
Low Cost FeCo Bimetal Cathode for Li-Air Batteries
Authors: Kim Hun , Sun Yang-Kook 
Published: February 2020

In spite of the extremely high theoretical specific capacity of lithium oxygen (Li-O2) electrochemistry,1 low energy efficiency makes this system impractical. Among the catalysts, noble metals and their derivatives have shown improved results with low overpotentials during an oxygen evolution reaction (OER).2 Moreover, bimetal noble metal alloys have also exhibited remarkable decreases of charge overpotentials.3 However, use of noble metal based catalysts makes overcoming their inherent high cost impossible. Therefore, low cost catalysts with acceptable performance are essential for practical Li-O2 battery use. In this report, an iron cobalt bimetal-carbon nanotube (FeCo-CNT) composite was synthesized as a catalytic air cathode material for Li-O2 batteries. An Li-O2 battery using FeCo-CNT air electrodes exhibited higher efficiency than that of pristine CNT as well as higher capacity. Spectroscopic and electron microscope analyses showed that the improved cell performances can be attributed to the catalytic effect of FeCo. As a cost-effective non-noble metal catalyst, FeCo-CNT demonstrated performance comparable to noble metal catalysts in Li-O2 systems.

References

1. H. G. Jung, J. Hassoun, J. B. Park, Y. K. Sun, B. Scrosati, Nature Chemistry
2012, 4, 579.
2. E. Yilmaz, C. Yogi, K. Yamanaka, T. Ohta and H. R. Byon, Nano Lett., 2013, 13, 4679–4684.
3. B. G. Kim, H. J. Kim, S. Back, K. W. Nam, Y. Jung, Y. K. Han and J. W. Choi, Sci. Rep., 2014, 4, 4225.
A New Conceptual Cathode and Separator Design Enabling High Energy Density Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Kang Jin Kyeong , Yang Guijun , Kang Ji Hoon , Park Jong Won , Jung Yongju 
Published: February 2020

Significant improvement of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) performances has been achieved with a rapid advance of portable electronic devices over the past quarter century. With a growing demand for high performance power sources, world-wide efforts have been devoted to the development of an alternative battery system to replace current LIBs which face performance limitation in terms of capacity and energy density. Recently, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have received an unprecedented attention owing to their great potentials such as a large theoretical capacity of sulfur, low toxicity and low cost. As cutting-edge nanotechnologies (e.g., C-S composite concept, mesoporous interlayer) have been employed to Li-S batteries, their performances have been dramatically improved for the past two decades. Despite such remarkable progress, there have remained many issues (i.e., limited cycling performance and low rate properties) which should be addressed for successful commercialization of Li-S batteries. In addition, most approaches to solve those problems need so complex and expensive processes which are so hard to implement them to practical mass production.
Herein, we report a facile and cost-effective approach for the development of high-performance Li-S batteries. Through combining a functional separator to a high-sulfur-loading cathode, which can mitigate the active material loss and confine polysulfide ions within a specific space ensuring a long cycle life, high-performance Li-S batteries are fabricated and their characteristic features are intensively investigated.
Impact of Electrolyte Viscosity on Redox Flow Battery Performance
Authors: Barton John Leonard , Milshtein Jarrod David , Brushett Fikile R. 
Published: February 2020

Due to their inherent scalability and long operational lifetimes, redox flow batteries (RFBs) have shown promise as grid-level energy storage systems that enable the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources and the improvement of non-renewable energy processes on the grid.1 However, additional cost reductions are required to reach proposed capital cost targets for widespread commercial implementation.2 While multiple efforts have focused on discovery and development of next-generation materials for RFBs, fewer studies have systematically investigated the impact of the physical properties of electrolytes on cell performance. This is particularly relevant as many new electrolyte formulations push towards higher concentrations and incorporate new redox structures (e.g., macromolecules), which improve capacity and reduce cost, but also result in higher viscosities and greater property variation as a function of state-of-charge. These factors are expected to strongly influence cell performance. Specifically, engineering an efficient, cost-effective reactor depends on mitigation of resistive losses, several of which depend on electrolyte viscosity, and this dependence has yet to be fully characterized within a RFB.
Here, we use a single-electrolyte flow cell configuration3, coupled with a model iron-based electrolyte, to probe the impact of electrolyte viscosity on RFB losses. Through the use of glucose as a chemically and electrochemically inert solution thickener, we investigate polarization as a function of electrolyte viscosity, electrolyte flowrate, and flow field geometry. Experimental data is combined with an one dimensional porous electrode polarization model to extract ohmic, kinetic, and mass transfer contributions to cell resistance. Of particular interest are mass transfer rates in RFBs, which are rarely quantified, thus the observed trends in mass transfer coefficient are correlated in terms of dimensionless numbers (e.g., Reynolds, Schmidt) in a traditional power-law format. This study aims to link electrolyte properties and cell performance and to provide a scalable descriptions of mass transfer in RFBs.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, which was formed under the Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the Department of Energy. We thank A. Helal and G. H. McKinley for rheological guidance and aid in viscosity measurements. We also thank M. Z. Bazant for use of milling equipment to fabricate flow fields used in this work.

References

1. Weber, A. Z. et al. Redox flow batteries : a review. J. Appl. Electrochem.
41, 1137–1164 (2011).
2. Dmello, R., Milshtein, J. D., Brushett, F. R. & Smith, K. C. Cost-driven materials selection criteria for redox flow battery electrolytes. J. Power Sources
330, 261–272 (2016).
3. Darling, R. M. & Perry, M. L. The Influence of Electrode and Channel Configurations on Flow Battery Performance. J. Electrochem. Soc.
161, A1381–A1387 (2014).

Figure 1
Rechargeable Aluminum–Air Battery Using Various Air-Cathode Materials and Suppression of Byproduct Formation on Both Anode and Air Cathode
Authors: Mori Ryohei 
Published: February 2020

A problem with the practial realization of the aluminum air battery is that byproducts such as Al(OH)3 or Al2O3 accumulate on the electrodes during electrochemical reaction. The goal of this study is to develop a practical, high-capacity rechargeable aluminum–air battery that resists degradation. We attempted to use different types of active materials for the air-cathode material and used a mixture of AlCl3 and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride as an ionic-liquid-based electrolyte. The air-cathode materials were activated carbon, carbon alloy, ceramic perovskite oxide, aluminum terephthalate as metal–organic framework (MOF), as well as non-oxide ceramic materials such as TiN, TiC, and TiB2. When we used carbon alloy as the air-cathode material, it initially exhibited an electrical current greater than those of the other air cathode materials because of its high catalytic activity in oxygen reduction, although its effect decreased as the charge–discharge reaction proceeded. Ceramic perovskite oxide (LSCF : La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3), TiN, and TiC demonstrated stable performance in electrochemical reactions over the long term. In contrast to aqueous-electrolyte-based aluminum–air battery system, our aluminum–air battery did not show typical byproducts on the aluminum anode side after the electrochemical reaction, such as Al(OH)3 or Al2O3, although we observed them on the air cathode side. However, byproduct formation was suppressed when TiN and TiC were used as air-cathode materials. To our knowledge, this is the first report of suppressed formation of such byproducts on both anode and air cathode in an aluminum–air battery. Our results suggest that byproducts accumulate on the air cathode via reaction of aluminum carbonate, which is suppressed with the TiC air cathode.

Figure 1
(Invited) Bridging the Gap for the Commercialization of the First Mobile Metabolism Tracker
Authors: Forzani Erica 
Published: February 2020

In the last 15 years,per every sensor device created, commercially marketed, and used in real world scenarios, over 3,000 research papers have been published in the field of nano-biosensing. The big disproportionate research to commercial translation ratio reveals a remarkable gap between the research world and the real world, and indicates the need not only for cross-cutting fundamental scientific and engineering principles but also for smart ways to conduct marketing.
This talk introduces a sensing mobile device based on a hybrid chemical nanosensor for metabolism tracking introduced in the market in 2015. During the talk, we discuss the insights of the sensor device development and market implementation, including a multi-disciplinary approach that the team used to overcome technical and marketing barriers to place the product in the market.
In order to achieve the goal, chemical and physical sensing mechanisms were implemented as approach for detection of analytes in the samples. In addition, from the marketing stand point, a user-based feedback strategy was implemented to define the market need, and improve the product features. These approaches helped to bridge the above-mentioned gap. The technical barriers involved the use of synergic combination of nanocomposite sensing materials, multiple sensing transduction mechanisms and decision-fused sensor signal processing algorithmthat provides selective, fast, and specific detection of analytes. The sensors used colorimetric and pressure based mechanisms to assess metabolism. The sensors were integrated into portable devices that use a smartphone to process sensor signals, and display results.
The marketing barriers included the outreach to health professionals to adopt the technology. The barriers were overcome with sensor device test trials, clinical validation, as well as marketing strategies.