Hua Ma

The combination of a highly exfoliated, graphene-like MoS2 cathode and ultrasmall Mg nanoparticle anode is proposed, for the first time, for rechargeable Mg batteries. Such a configuration exhibits an operating voltage of 1.8 V and a well reversible discharge capacity of ca. 170 mA h g−1, emphasizing the necessity of rational morphological control of electrode materials and opening up new opportunities for rechargeable Mg batteries. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

In this paper, MnO2 nanomaterials of different crystallographic types and crystal morphologies have been selectively synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route and electrochemically investigated as the cathode active materials of primary and rechargeable batteries. Beta-MnO2 nano/microstructures, including one-dimensional (1-D) nanowires, nanorods, and nanoneedles, as well as 2-D hexagramlike and dendritelike hierarchical forms, were obtained by simple hydrothermal decomposition of an Mn(NO3)2 solution under controlled reaction conditions. Alpha- and gamma-MnO2 nanowires and nanorods were also prepared on the basis of previous literature. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by instrumental analyses such as XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM. Furthermore, the obtained 1-D alpha- and gamma-MnO2 nanostructures were found to exhibit favorable discharge performance in both primary alkaline Zn-MnO2 cells and rechargeable Li-MnO2 cells, showing their potential applications in high-energy batteries.

Building rechargeable lithium batteries for wide-temperature applications requires us to investigate the battery failure mechanism at low/high temperature, design advanced electrode/electrolyte materials, and optimize the battery management system.

In this paper, nest-like Ni1-xPtx (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, and 0.12) hollow spheres of submicrometer sizes have been prepared through a template-replacement route and investigated as catalysts for generating hydrogen from ammonia borane (NH3BH3). Experimental investigations have demonstrated that the obtained Ni1-xPtx alloy hollow spheres exhibit favorable catalytic activities for both the hydrolysis and the thermolysis of NH3BH3. It was found that, in the presence of the Ni0.88Pt0.12 catalyst, the hydrolysis of NH3BH3 causes a quick release of H2, while the thermal decomposition of NH3BH3 occurs at lowered temperatures with increased mass loss. The present results indicate that NH3BH3 along with Ni1-xPtx alloy hollow spheres may find some applications for small-scale on-board hydrogen storage and supply.

Mg nanowires with the diameters of 30−50 nm, 80−100 nm, and 150−170 nm, which were prepared via a vapor-transport method, exhibited enhanced kinetics for hydrogen absorption/desorption. The present results clearly show that thinner Mg/MgH2 nanowires have a much lower desorption energy than that of thicker nanowires or bulk Mg/MgH2, indicating that changes in kinetics and thermodynamics are expected if the diameters of the nanowires are thinner than 30 nm.