Cunliang Zhang

Antimony (Sb) is a potential candidate anode for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity. However; in the process of potassium alloying reaction; the huge volume expansion (about 407%) leads to pulverization of active substance as well as loss of electrical contact resulting in rapidly declining capacity. Herein; uniformly dispersed Sb-Nanodot in carbon frameworks (Sb-ND@C) were constructed by in situ confined polymerization of ionic liquids. Attributed to the uniformly dispersed Sb-ND and confinement effect of carbon frameworks; as anode for PIBs; Sb-ND@C delivered a superior rate capability (320.1 mA h g⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹) and an outstanding cycling stability (486 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles; achieving 89.8% capacity retention). This work offers a facile route to prepare highly dispersed metal-Nanodot via the in situ polymerization of ionic liquid for high-performance metal-ion batteries

Fe₂(MoO₄)₃ assembled by cross-stacking of porous nanosheets is well designed with impressive Al-storage performance and its Al³⁺ intercalation/extraction mechanism is also clarified.

The pursuit of electrochemical energy storage has led to a pressing need on materials with high capacities and energy densities; however, further progress is plagued by the restrictive capacity (372 mAh g⁻¹) of conventional graphite materials. Tungsten trioxide (WO₃)-based anodes feature high theoretical capacity (693 mAh g⁻¹), suitable potential, and affordable cost, arousing ever-increasing attention and intense efforts. Nonetheless, developing high-performance WO₃ electrodes that accommodate lithium ions remains a daunting challenge on account of sluggish kinetics characteristics and large volume strain. Herein, the well-designed hierarchical WO₃ agglomerates assembled with straight and parallel aligned nanoribbons are fabricated and evaluated as an anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which exhibits an ultra-high capacity and excellent rate capability. At a current density of 1,000 mA g⁻¹, a reversible capacity as high as 522.7 mAh g⁻¹ can be maintained after 800 cycles, corresponding to a high capacity retention of ∼80%, demonstrating an exceptional long-durability cyclic performance. Furthermore, the mechanistic studies on the lithium storage processes of WO₃ are probed, providing a foundation for further optimizations and rational designs. These results indicate that the well-designed hierarchical WO₃ agglomerates display great potential for applications in the field of high-performance LIBs.

Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃@Carbon nanocrystals exhibit superior lithium storage properties due to the shortened lithium-ion diffusion length and the enhanced surface electronic conductivity.