Themed collection Materials for Energy storage

This review presents the latest progress in the development of non-covalent functionalized CNT supported Pt-based electrocatalysts for fuel cells.

A key challenge to the exploration of electrochemical energy conversion and storage is the ability to engineer the catalyst in terms of composition, morphology, and structure towards low cost, high activity and high stability.

Carbon dioxide can be electrochemically reduced to carbon in molten carbonate salts, promising affordable energy, materials and environmental explorations.

Research on solid supercapacitors over the last few years has aimed to provide high performing and safely operating energy storage solutions for the fast growing application areas of consumer and micro-electronics, providing printable, flexible and wearable devices.

The Si–O–C bonding and its evolution upon electrochemical cycling in a Si-coated carbon nanotube anode are unveiled by X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies.

A manganese-deficient lithium manganese silicate cathode is synthesised by an emulsion synthesis route, using mesoporous silica as a template, to give a mesoporous product with excellent electrochemical reversibility in lithium cells.

α-Co(OH)₂ modification is used to boost Bi₂S₃ for higher specific capacitance while improving the cycle life stability.

A new intercalation mechanism is identified when electride solutions in ethylenediamine are used to generate MoS₂ intercalation compounds.

The Cu_xO_180-2 catalyst obtained with 3D hierarchical nanosphere structures could catalyze CO₂ reduction in aqueous solution with very high catalytic activity and superb selectivity of produced formate, significantly outperforming Cu_xO catalysts without such special morphology.

Hierarchically meso-macroporous TiO₂ films were prepared via a UV light-induced in situ polymerization of hybrid organic–inorganic films containing propoxylated glyceryltriacrylate monomers and titania precursors.

Porous carbon nanofibers for supercapacitor electrodes have been made by in situ H₃PO₄ activation.

A new oxygen reduction catalyst is made of Pd and Pt nanostructures (Pd–Pt) supported on a herring-bone arrangement of carbon nanofibers (NFs) and is synthesized in one pot by the sequential reduction of Pd²⁺ and Pt⁴⁺ in aqueous chloride solution with ethylene glycol and then adding the carbon NF to precipitate the catalyst.

Tin is incorporated into silicon nanowires to significantly improve their rate capability in lithium-ion battery anodes, alleviating the need for conductive carbon additives.

Poly(ether sulfone) (PES) porous membranes with tunable morphology were fabricated and applied in a vanadium flow battery (VFB).

A new bacterium, Ochrobactrum sp. 575, is applied as a high performance MFC while resolving xylose, and the formation of fumaric acid is observed during the discharging process.

Nanocrystalline Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ was synthesized by an in situ spray pyrolysis technique followed by heat treatment in N₂ for short periods of time, resulting in self-contained carbon originating from the organic synthetic precursors. The excellent high rate capability and full battery tests indicate that this is a promising 4 anode candidate for high power lithium-ion batteries.

Nitrogen-doped, carbon-coated Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ cathode materials were prepared by the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine on the Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ surface and subsequent carbonization of polydopamine.

γ-Fe₂O₃ film was grown directly on a copper sheet with radio frequency magnetron sputtering as an anode for Na-ion batteries. Results show that the γ-Fe₂O₃ film annealed at 600 °C delivers a high reversible capacity of 450 mA h g⁻¹ and retains nearly 100% of capacity over 100 charge–discharge cycles.

Graphene network (GN) was synthesized by a two-step chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method, involving the thermal annealing sputter-coated Cu film to form a Cu network by annealing for CVD deposition of graphene onto the Cu network catalyst.

Electroanalytical techniques indicate that voltage hysteresis in electrochemical conversion reactions has thermodynamic origins, which highlights the significant challenge to their prospects of application.

For the first time, porous carbon microfibers co-doped with N/P/K were synthesized from cane molasses by combination of electrospinning and carbonization techniques and its electrochemical application to electrode materials for supercapacitors was investigated.

MnO₂ has been used as a sacrificial template to fabricate a core-shell structured polyaniline/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite.

This article presents the influence of three carbons on the capacitive performance of MnO₂/C composites with same MnO₂ active material.

Sodium manganese oxides (SMO) with different crystal structures have been synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reaction (HTSSR), in which both morphology and crystal structure of SMO can be well-controlled by synergistic effects of both the ratio of sodium-to-manganese and the heat-treatment temperature.

CS–PWA–Nafion composite membranes were successfully synthesized via a layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. They exhibited low vanadium ion permeability and improved comprehensive performance in VRFBs.

A unique SnS₂@graphene nanocable structure for high-performance lithium storage with a novel contact model between SnS₂ nanosheets and graphene.

A three-dimensional graphene/nickel composite electrode with a hierarchical porous structure is developed to simultaneously boost the bio- and electro-catalysis for high-performance microbial fuel cells.

Ultrathin MoS₂ nanostructured film with surface layered nanosheet structure was directly grown onto FTO conductive substrate by a facile hydrothermal method, exhibiting great potential for solar energy conversion application.

SnO₂ nanocubes with controllable pore volume show the best Li storage performance.