Zhenyu Xing

A unique supramolecular secondary nanoassembly is first constructed using inorganic disc-like nanoclays (LAPONITE®) and organic discotic conjugated molecules (hexabenzocoronene).

Waste-derived SiO ₂ from yellow phosphorus slag was converted into Si nanoparticles confined in hierarchical porous carbon via Mg ₂ Si-mediated CO ₂ conversion, delivering high-performance LIB anodes.

Compared with lithium-ion batteries, lithium sulfur batteries possess a much lower cost and much higher theoretical energy density, and they are, therefore, becoming a research hotspot

Good electrical conductivity, strong catalytic activity, high interaction with lithium polysulfides (LIPSs), simple method, and low cost should be considered for the design and preparation of high-performance electrochemical catalysts that catalyze the conversion of LIPSs. In this work, we designed a bimetallic alloyed multifunctional interlayer with multiple adsorption/catalysis sites. The interwoven carbon fibers derived from bacterial cellulose (BC) not only contribute to reducing metal ions to metals but also confine the growth of Co–Fe alloys formed in situ. The metal supported on carbon is very effective for the conversion of LIPSs due to its high adsorption and catalytic sites. In addition, the synergistic effect between Fe and Co species leads to excellent bifunctional catalytic activity. Through detailed electrochemical analysis and theoretical calculations, we revealed that [email protected] has superior electrocatalytic activity, and the lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries with a catalytic interlayer can deliver satisfactory rate and cycle performance. At a high current density of 2C, the discharge capacity can still reach 627 mAh g^–1. At a current density of 1C, the Coulombic efficiency is maintained at a level close to 100% during the whole cycle process and a satisfying low capacity decay of 0.08% per cycle. More importantly, even if the ambient temperature drops to 0 °C, the Li–S battery using the interlayer can still be charged and discharged normally and shows acceptable discharge capacity, which shows that it has good rate kinetics.

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) suffer from sluggish reaction kinetics of sulfur-containing species and loss of soluble polysulfides (PSs) during cycling, especially in the case of liquid electrolytes. Here, we improve the kinetics of sulfur species by decorating Mo₂C nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the host for sulfur active mass. In addition, by use of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) derived from in situ polymerization of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) to mitigate the diffusion of PSs and improve the stability of Li stripping/plating. As a result, the sulfur cathodes are endowed with enhanced initial specific capacity and suppressed dissolution of sulfur species. The cells with CNT/Mo₂C/S cathodes and GPE exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. The anodes cycled with GPE show remarkably enhanced lithium plating-stripping behavior. Benefitting from the synergistic effect, LSBs with higher energy density and improved durability are obtained, demonstrating a new approach for developing high-performance quasi-solid-state Li metal batteries.