Latest ArticlesThis work introduces a simple and facile approach for the morphology and size controlled synthesis of Co-doped MIL-96. By using different bases as modulators, Co-doped MIL-96 was obtained with sizes that varied from 5 μm to 300 nm, and four different morphologies, including hexagonal prism, icosahedron, hexagonal spindle and ellipsoid. Among these, nano-sized Co-doped MIL-96 with an ellipsoid morphology exhibited the highest electroactive surface area and good conductivity as well as the best electrochemical sensing performance towards α-fetoprotein.
Aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ARZIBs) are expected to replace organic electrolyte batteries owing to its low price, safe and environmentally friendly characteristics. Herein, we fabricated vanadium-based Na1.25V3O8 nanosheets as a cathode material for ARZIBs, which present a high performance by electrochemical de-sodium at high voltage to form Na2V6O16 phase in the first cycle: high capacity of 390 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g, high rate performance (162 mAh/g at 10 A/g) and superior cycle stability (179 mAh/g with a high capacity retention of 88.2% of the maximum capacity after 2000 cycles). In addition, the cell exhibits a high energy density of 416.9 Wh/kg at 143.6 W/kg, suggesting great potential of the as-prepared Na1.25V3O8 nanosheets for ARZIBs.
As a significant semiconductor, nickel selenide shows enormous potential and extensive application prospects in the field of sensor, photocatalysis and supercapacitor. In this paper, nickel selenide (Ni3Se2, NiSe) thin films were successfully fabricated on stainless-steel sheet using a facile, effective electrodeposition technique. The morphologies, microstructures and chemical compositions of the thin films are characterized systematically. Electrochemical tests exhibit that the Ni3Se2 and NiSe possess high specific capacitance of 581.1 F/g and 1644.7 F/g, respectively. A flexible, all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor is assembled by utilizing NiSe film as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode. The solid device delivers a high areal capacitance of 27.0 mF/cm2 at the current density of 0.7 mA/cm2. The maximum volumetric energy density and power density of the NiSe//AC asymmetric SCs can achieve 0.26 mWh/cm3 and 33.35 mW/cm3, respectively. The device shows robust cycling stability with 84.6% capacitance retention after 10, 000 cycles, outstanding flexibility and satisfactory mechanical stability. Moreover, two devices in series can light up a red light-emitting diode, which displayed great potential applications for energy storage.
In order to further improve the potential application of nickel-cobalt oxide (NiCoO) in supercapacitors, we use controlled calcination of different Ni-Co-MOF ([NiCo(HBTC)(4, 4'-bipy)]) composites to obtain five kinds of nickel doped NiCoO (N-NiCoO) with different Ni/Co molar ratio. These N-NiCoO materials with unique hexagonal nanoplates structure, high specific surface area and high porosity indicate high and stable electrochemical activity. In particular, N-NiCoO-2 with a Ni/Co molar ratio of 2:1 exhibits the highest 945.79 F/g specific capacitance at 1 A/g and a high cycle stability of only 6.7% attenuation after 5000 cycles. Apart from the certain percentage of NiCoO with higher conductivity, nitrogen doping provides more reactive sites and the specific porous hexagonal nanoplates structure of the product itself accelerate electron transfer and promote electrolyte diffusion can more effectively enhance the electrochemical performance. Therefore, N-NiCoO synthesized via a simple method exhibit exciting potential and can be used as an electrode material for supercapacitors with good performance.
Using low-cost precipitated silica (SiO2) as the carrier, a ternary SiO2-TiO2/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst was prepared via the sol-gel method associated with a wet-grinding process. The as-prepared composite exhibits photocatalytic hydrogen production and pollutant degradation performance under solar-like irradiation. The effect of SiO2 carrier on the properties of the heterostructure between TiO2 and g-C3N4 (CN) was systematically studied. It is found that SiO2 has important effects on promoting the interaction between TiO2 and CN. The particle size of TiO2 and CN was obviously reduced during the calcination process due to the effects of SiO2. Especially, the TiO2 particles exhibit monodispersed state with particle size below 10 nm (quantum dots), resulting in the improvement of the contact area and the interaction betweenTiO2 and CN, and leading to the formation of efficient TiO2/CN Z-scheme heterostructure in SiO2-TiO2/CN. Besides, the introduction of SiO2 can increase the specific surface area and light absorption of SiO2-TiO2/CN, further promoting the photocatalytic reaction. As expected, the optimum SiO2-TiO2/CN composite exhibits 12.3, 3.1 and 2.9 times higher photocatalytic hydrogen production rate than that of SiO2-TiO2, CN and TiO2/CN under solar-like irradiation, while the photocatalytic active component in SiO2-TiO2/CN is only about 60 wt%. Moreover, the rhodamine B degradation rate of SiO2-TiO2/CN is also higher than that of SiO2-TiO2, CN and TiO2/CN.
In this work, we report Co3O4@PPy hybrid structured electrode materials for overall water splitting. The as-synthesized Co3O4/PPy-120 samples present excellent electrocatalytic performances for OER and HER and long durability. It only requires an operating potential of 1.67 V to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm2 with a remarkable durability for 28 h. The superior electrocatalytic performances mainly can be attributed to the unique heterostructures and the synergistic effects between PPy and Co3O4 electrode materials.
Metallic phosphides as a crucial class of metal-like compounds show high electric conductivity and electrochemical properties. It is of significant benefit to understanding the relationship between the electrocatalytic performance and phosphating degree of precursors. In this work, using Co3O4@SiO2 as precursor, core-shell structured CoP@SiO2 nanoreactors with outstanding oxygen evolution reaction performance were synthesized through a facile calcination method. The electrocatalytic performance of CoP@SiO2 modified electrode that treated with 500 mg NaH2PO2 was greatly enhanced. The obtained product displays a low overpotential of 280 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 and a Tafel value 89 mV/dec in alkaline conditions. The easy available CoP@SiO2 with outstanding catalytic performance and stability possesses huge potential in future electrochemical applications.
MXene materials have recently attracted considerable attention in energy storage application owing to their metallic conductivity, 2D structure and tunable surface terminations. However, the restacking of 2D MXene nanosheets hinders the ion transport and accessibility to the surface, resulting in adverse effect on their electrochemical performances. Here, with the assistance of hexamethylenetetramine (C6H12N4), 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets were fabricated into a 3D architecture with crumbled and porous structure through an electrostatic self-assembly followed by annealing. The resultant 3D structure can expose massive active sites and facilitates the ion transport, which is beneficial for sufficient utilization of the outstanding superiorities of the MXene. Therefore, as a pseudocapacitive material, the 3D crumpled and porous Ti3C2Tx MXene shows a gravimetric capacitance of 333 F/g at 1 A/g, and maintains 261 F/g and 132 F/g at ultrahigh current densities of 100 A/g and 1000 A/g, respectively, revealing promising potential for application in supercapacitors.
Conductive MOFs could exhibit full potential as integrated electrode materials for supercapacitors without interference from additional conductive additives. Here we report an anionic Co-MOF cage with zeolite framework, which was balanced by the redox-active guest [Co(H2O)6]2+ and protonated [(CH3)2NH2]2+ ions. Benefit from the unique ion skeleton structure, Co-MOF exhibits a conductivity higher than most of reported MOFs with the value of 1.42×10-3 S/cm, which can be directly fabricated as electrode for supercapacitors. A maximum specific capacitance of 236.2 F/g can be achieved at a current density of 1 A/g of Co-MOF. Additionally, the electric performance and morphology of this Co-MOF can be modified by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and the maximum specific capacitance could increase up to 334 F/g at 1 A/g when the ratio of ligand and CTAB is 1:6 (Co-MOF-6). Furthermore, the specific capacitance can retain at 64.04% and 77.92% of the initial value after 3000 cycles of Co-MOF and Co-CTAB-6, respectively. Obviously, the addition of CTAB further improves both capacitance and cycle stability.
Dual ion batteries (DIBs) exhibit broad application prospects in the field of electrical energy storage (EES) devices with excellent properties, such as high voltage, high energy density, and low cost. In the graphitebased DIBs, high voltage is needed to store enough anions with the formation of anion intercalation compound XCn (X = AlCl4-, PF6-, TFSI-, etc.). Hence, it is difficult for graphite-based DIBs to match proper anodes and electrolytes. Here, an Se/graphene composite is prepared via a convenient method, and assembled into a dual-ion full battery (DIFB) as anode with graphite cathode and 1 mol/L NaPF6 in EC: EMC (1:1, v:v). This DIFB has achieved a high discharge capacity of 75.9 mAh/g and high medium output voltage of 3.5 V at 0.1 A/g. Actually, the suitable anode materials, such as the present Se/graphene composite, are extremely important for the development and application of graphite-based DIBs. This study is enlightening for the design of future low-cost EES devices including graphite-based DIBs.