Kai Zhang

Chemically modified graphene and polyaniline (PANI) nanofiber composites were prepared by in situ polymerization of aniline monomer in the presence of graphene oxide under acid conditions. The obtained graphene oxide/PANI composites with different mass ratios were reduced to graphene using hydrazine followed by reoxidation and reprotonation of the reduced PANI to give the graphene/PANI nanocomposites. The morphology, composition, and electronic structure of the composites together with pure polyaniline fibers (PANI-F), graphene oxide (GO), and graphene (GR) were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state 13C NMR, FT-IR, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the chemically modified graphene and the PANI nanofibers formed a uniform nanocomposite with the PANI fibers absorbed on the graphene surface and/or filled between the graphene sheets. Such uniform structure together with the observed high conductivities afforded high specific capacitance and good cycling stability during the charge−discharge process when used as supercapacitor electrodes. A specific capacitance of as high as 480 F/g at a current density of 0.1 A/g was achieved over a PANI-doped graphene composite. The research data revealed that high specific capacitance and good cycling stability can be achieved either by doping chemically modified graphenes with PANI or by doping the bulky PANIs with graphene/graphene oxide.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) receive significant attention for electrochemical energy storage and conversion owing to their wide availability and the low cost of Na resources. However, SIBs face challenges of low specific energy, short cycling life, and insufficient specific power, owing to the heavy mass and large radius of Na(+) ions. As an important component of SIBs, cathode materials have a significant effect on the SIB electrochemical performance. The most recent advances and prospects of inorganic and organic cathode materials are summarized here. Among current cathode materials, layered transition-metal oxides achieve high specific energies around 600 mW h g(-1) owing to their high specific capacities of 180-220 mA h g(-1) and their moderate operating potentials of 2.7-3.2 V (vs Na(+) /Na). Porous Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 /C nanomaterials exhibit excellent cycling performance with almost 100% retention over 1000 cycles owing to their robust structural framework. Recent emerging cathode materials, such as amorphous NaFePO4 and pteridine derivatives show interesting electrochemical properties and attractive prospects for application in SIBs. Future work should focus on strategies to enhance the overall performance of cathode materials in terms of specific energy, cycling life, and rate capability with cationic doping, anionic substitution, morphology fabrication, and electrolyte matching.

Abstract The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) provides an attractive approach to convert renewable electricity into fuels and feedstocks in the form of chemical bonds. Among the different CO 2 RR pathways, the conversion of CO 2 into CO is considered one of the most promising candidate reactions because of its high technological and economic feasibility. Integrating catalyst and electrolyte design with an understanding of the catalytic mechanism will yield scientific insights and promote this technology towards industrial implementation. Herein, we give an overview of recent advances and challenges for the selective conversion of CO 2 into CO. Multidimensional catalyst and electrolyte engineering for the CO 2 RR are also summarized. Furthermore, recent studies on the large‐scale production of CO are highlighted to facilitate industrialization of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 . To conclude, the remaining technological challenges and future directions for the industrial application of the CO 2 RR to generate CO are highlighted.

Abstract Rechargeable aqueous batteries are an up-and-coming system for potential large-scale energy storage due to their high safety and low cost. However, the freeze of aqueous electrolyte limits the low-temperature operation of such batteries. Here, we report the breakage of original hydrogen-bond network in ZnCl 2 solution by modulating electrolyte structure, and thus suppressing the freeze of water and depressing the solid-liquid transition temperature of the aqueous electrolyte from 0 to –114 °C. This ZnCl 2 -based low-temperature electrolyte renders polyaniline||Zn batteries available to operate in an ultra-wide temperature range from –90 to +60 °C, which covers the earth surface temperature in record. Such polyaniline||Zn batteries are robust at –70 °C (84.9 mA h g −1 ) and stable during over 2000 cycles with ~100% capacity retention. This work significantly provides an effective strategy to propel low-temperature aqueous batteries via tuning the electrolyte structure and widens the application range of temperature adaptation of aqueous batteries.

Batteries and supercapacitors as electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices are continuously serving for human life. The electrochemical performance of batteries and supercapacitors depends in large part on the active materials in electrodes. As an important family, Mn-based oxides have shown versatile applications in primary batteries, secondary batteries, metal-air batteries, and pseudocapacitors due to their high activity, high abundance, low price, and environmental friendliness. In order to meet future market demand, it is essential and urgent to make further improvements in energy and power densities of Mn-based electrode materials with the consideration of multiple electron reaction and low molecular weight of the active materials. Meanwhile, nanomaterials are favourable to achieve high performance by means of shortening the ionic diffusion length and providing large surface areas for electrode reactions. This article reviews the recent efforts made to apply nanostructured Mn-based oxides for batteries and pseudocapacitors. The influence of structure, morphology, and composition on electrochemical performance has been systematically summarized. Compared to bulk materials and notable metal catalysts, nanostructured Mn-based oxides can promote the thermodynamics and kinetics of the electrochemical reactions occurring at the solid-liquid or the solid-liquid-gas interface. In particular, nanostructured Mn-based oxides such as one-dimensional MnO2 nanostructures, MnO2-conductive matrix nanocomposites, concentration-gradient structured layered Li-rich Mn-based oxides, porous LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 nanorods, core-shell structured LiMnSiO4@C nanocomposites, spinel-type Co-Mn-O nanoparticles, and perovskite-type CaMnO3 with micro-nano structures all display superior electrochemical performance. This review should shed light on the sustainable development of advanced batteries and pseudocapacitors with nanostructured Mn-based oxides.