• Energy Research

Maximized energy density: Controlled electrochemical charge injection (ECI) can be used for maximizing the energy density of supercapacitors (SCs). The electrode potential is tuned by the surface chemical structure of the electrode material to increase both the working voltage and the specific capacity of the SCs. As a result, the energy density of carbon SCs is significantly improved close to the level of lithium-ion batteries (see picture).

Narrowing the bandgap of wide-bandgap semiconductor photocatalysts (for instance, anatase TiO2) by introducing suitable heteroatoms has been actively pursued for increasing solar absorption, but usually suffers from a limited thermodynamic/kinetic solubility of substitutional dopants in bulk and/or dopant-induced recombination centres. Here we report a red anatase TiO2 microsphere with a bandgap gradient varying from 1.94 eV on its surface to 3.22 eV in its core by a conceptually different doping approach for harvesting the full spectrum of visible light. This approach uses a pre-doped interstitial boron gradient to weaken nearby Ti-O bonds for the easy substitution of oxygen by nitrogen, and consequently it substantially improves the nitrogen solubility. Furthermore, no nitrogen-related Ti3+ was formed in the red TiO2 due to a charge compensation effect by boron, which inevitably occurs in common nitrogen doped TiO2. The red anatase TiO2 exhibits photoelectrochemical water splitting activity under visible light irradiation. The results obtained may shed light on how to increase high visible light absorbance of wide-bandgap photocatalysts.

A flexible, dictyophora-like sponge of porous N-doped carbon microtubes demonstrates excellent electrocatalytic activities for both the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction.

[Wang, Da-Wei; Li, Feng; Liu, Min; Cheng, Hui-Ming] Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Met Res, Shenyang Natl Lab Mat Sci, Shenyang 110016, Peoples R China. [Lu, Gao Qing] Univ Queensland, AIBN, Australia Res Council Ctr Funct Nanomat, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia. [Lu, Gao Qing] Univ Queensland, Sch Engn, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.;Cheng, HM (reprint author), Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Met Res, Shenyang Natl Lab Mat Sci, 72 Wenhua Rd, Shenyang 110016, Peoples R China;cheng@imr.ac.cn

We report a facile strategy to synthesize the nanocomposite of Co(3)O(4) nanoparticles anchored on conducting graphene as an advanced anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The Co(3)O(4) nanoparticles obtained are 10-30 nm in size and homogeneously anchor on graphene sheets as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separated. This Co(3)O(4)/graphene nanocomposite displays superior Li-battery performance with large reversible capacity, excellent cyclic performance, and good rate capability, highlighting the importance of the anchoring of nanoparticles on graphene sheets for maximum utilization of electrochemically active Co(3)O(4) nanoparticles and graphene for energy storage applications in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

With the advent of flexible electronics, flexible lithium-ion batteries have attracted great attention as a promising power source in the emerging field of flexible and wearable electronic devices such as roll-up displays, touch screens, conformable active radio-frequency identification tags, wearable sensors and implantable medical devices. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress of flexible lithium-ion batteries, with special emphasis on electrode material selectivity and battery structural design. We begin with a brief introduction of flexible lithium-ion batteries and the current development of flexible solid-state electrolytes for applications in this field. This is followed by a detailed overview of the recent progress on flexible electrode materials based on carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon cloth, conductive paper (cellulose), textiles and some other low-dimensional nanostructured materials. Then recently proposed prototypes of flexible cable/wire type, transparent and stretchable lithium-ion batteries are highlighted. The latest advances in the exploration of other flexible battery systems such as lithium–sulfur, Zn–C (MnO2) and sodium-ion batteries, as well as related electrode materials are included. Finally, the prospects and challenges toward the practical uses of flexible lithium-ion batteries in electronic devices are discussed.

A mesoporous ZnS shell is in situ grown on a CdS core through a one-pot surfactant-free hydrothermal route. Due to the mesoporous ZnS shell and the unique spatial distribution of the photoexcited charge carriers in the CdS–ZnS core–shell particles, the hydrogen evolution rate over CdS–ZnS is 169 and 56 times higher than that of ZnS and CdS under visible light, respectively. Moreover, the core–shell particles show excellent photocatalytic stability over 60 h.

The recent development of tantalum (oxy)nitride based photoanodes is summarized and their future trends are also discussed.

AbstractHydrous ruthenium oxide (RuO2)/graphene sheet composites (ROGSCs) with different loadings of Ru are prepared by combining sol–gel and low‐temperature annealing processes. The graphene sheets (GSs) are well‐separated by fine RuO2 particles (5–20 nm) and, simultaneously, the RuO2 particles are anchored by the richly oxygen‐containing functional groups of reduced, chemically exfoliated GSs onto their surface. Benefits from the combined advantages of GSs and RuO2 in such a unique structure are that the ROGSC‐based supercapacitors exhibit high specific capacitance (∼570 F g−1 for 38.3 wt% Ru loading), enhanced rate capability, excellent electrochemical stability (∼97.9% retention after 1000 cycles), and high energy density (20.1 Wh kg−1) at low operation rate (100 mA g−1) or high power density (10000 W kg−1) at a reasonable energy density (4.3 Wh kg−1). Interestingly, the total specific capacitance of ROGSCs is higher than the sum of specific capacitances of pure GSs and pure RuO2 in their relative ratios, which is indicative of a positive synergistic effect of GSs and RuO2 on the improvement of electrochemical performance. These findings demonstrate the importance and great potential of graphene‐based composites in the development of high‐performance energy‐storage systems.