Hydrothermal synthesis of NiO/NiCo2O4 nanomaterials for applications in electrochemical energy storage

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - It is well known that the intelligent hybridization of active materials and the controllable recombination of nanostructures can...     

Carbon nanomaterials for advanced energy conversion and storage

It is estimated that the world will need to double its energy supply by 2050. Nanotechnology has opened up new frontiers in materials science and engineering to meet this challenge by creating new materials, particularly carbon nanomaterials, for efficient energy conversion and storage. Comparing to conventional energy materials, carbon nanomaterials possess unique size-/surface-dependent (e.g., morphological, electrical, optical, and mechanical) properties useful for enhancing the energy-conversion and storage performances. During the past 25 years or so, therefore, considerable efforts have been made to utilize the unique properties of carbon nanomaterials, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, as energy materials, and tremendous progress has been achieved in developing high-performance energy conversion (e.g., solar cells and fuel cells) and storage (e.g., supercapacitors and batteries) devices. This article reviews progress in the research and development of carbon nanomaterials during the past twenty years or so for advanced energy conversion and storage, along with some discussions on challenges and perspectives in this exciting field.     

不同维度碳基纳米材料的设计与合成及其在电化学储能中的应用

随着环境的恶化和能源危机,太阳能、风能等可持续能源的存储和利用变得迫在眉睫.电化学储能(EES)装置作为有效存储这些新兴能源的手段,受到越来越多的关注.电极材料对EES的性能至关重要,碳基纳米材料因其独特而突出的优势成为极有前途的电极材料.电极材料的结构设计和可控合成决定了EES的电化学性能.围绕碳基纳米材料独特而突出...     

Plasma processing of nanomaterials: emerging technologies for sensing and energy applications

Plasma processing represents an attractive and versatile option for the fabrication of low-dimensional nanomaterials, whose chemical and physical properties can be conveniently tailored for the development of advanced technologies. In particular, Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) is an appealing route to multi-functional oxide nanoarchitectures under relatively mild conditions, owing to the unique features and activation mechanisms of non-equilibrium plasmas. In this context, the potential of plasma-assisted fabrication in advanced nanosystem development is discussed. After a brief introduction on the basic categories of plasma approaches, the perspectives of application to CVD processes are commented, reporting on the growth and characterization of Co3O4 nanomaterials as a case study. Besides examining the interrelations between the material properties and the synthesis conditions, special focus is given to their emerging applications as catalysts for photo-assisted hydrogen production and solid state gas sensors.     

Hybrid nanocomposite materials for energy storage and conversion applications

Functional Hybrid materials based on conducting polymers and inorganic photo-electroactive species provide a wealth of opportunities for the development of novel materials with improved properties. Polyoxometalates are one type of well-known inorganic species with most interesting photo-electrochemical activity. They are perfect models for nanometer-sized oxide quantum-dots both concerning structure, topology and electrochemical and photochemical properties. Yet, they have not been applied as materials because of their molecular nature (i.e., soluble in most solvents or electrolytes). In our group we have recently developed a research line dealing with the integration of these fascinating clusters in conducting polymer matrices to yield functional hybrid materials. Our past emphasis was on electroactivity for energy-storage applications but these materials can also be used, as it is shown here, for photoelectrochemical applications.     

Ionic liquids for electrochemical energy storage devices applications

Ionic liquids, defined here as room-temperature molten salts, composed mainly of organic cations and (in)organic anions ions that may undergo almost unlimited structural variations with melting points below 100?°C. They offer a unique series of physical and chemical properties that make them extreme important candidates for several energy applications, especially for clean and sustainable energy storage and conversion materials and devices. Ionic liquids exhibit high thermal and electrochemical stability coupled with low volatility, create the possibility of designing appropriate electrolytes for different type batteries and supercapacitors. Herein, varieties of ionic liquids applications are reviewed on their utilization as electrolytes for Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries, Li-O₂(air) batteries, Li-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries, supercapacitors and as precursors to prepare and modify the electrode materials, meanwhile, some important research results in recent years are specially introduced, and the perspective on novel application of ionic liquids is also discussed.     

Polymeric nanomaterials for islet targeting and immunotherapeutic delivery

Here we report a proof-of-concept for development of pancreatic islet-targeting nanoparticles for immunomodulatory therapy of autoimmune type 1 diabetes. Modified with a unique islet-homing peptide, these polymeric nanomaterials exhibit 3-fold greater binding to islet endothelial cells and a 200-fold greater anti-inflammatory effect through targeted islet endothelial cell delivery of an immunosuppressant drug. Our findings also underscore the need to carefully tailor drug loading and nanoparticle dosage to achieve maximal vascular targeting and immunosuppression.     

二维纳米材料MXenes及其复合物在电催化领域中的应用研究进展

MXenes作为一种新兴的二维层状过渡金属碳化物、氮化物和碳氮化合物, 近年来被广泛应用于物理、化学、材料科学和纳米技术领域当中。MXenes制备过程中会不可避免地出现缺陷和—O, —OH, —F官能团, 同时具备高的电导率和大的比表面积, 使得MXenes具有良好的电子转移速率, 可作为一种优良的电化学催化剂。本文综述了MXenes在电催化领域的研究进展, 介绍了MXenes多种合成方法、不同掺杂类型的发展现状, 重点讨论了其在电催化产氢、产氧、氧气还原、CO₂还原以及氮气还原过程中的应用及机理研究, 并指出目前MXenes制备方法应朝着环境友好、形貌可控、难以氧化和高的可调节性方向发展, 以便应用于不同的电催化反应中。     

Graphitic carbon nitride with different dimensionalities for energy and environmental applications

As a metal-free semiconductor, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has received extensive attention due to its high stability, nontoxicity, facile and low-cost synthesis, appropriate band gap in the visible spectral range and wide availability of resources. The dimensions of g-C₃N₄ can influence the regime of the confinement of electrons, and consequently, g-C₃N₄ with various dimensionalities shows different properties, making them available for many stimulating applications. Although there are some reviews focusing on the synthesis strategy and applications of g-C₃N₄, there is still a lack of comprehensive review that systemically summarises the synthesis and application of different dimensions of g-C₃N₄, which can provide an important theoretical and practical basis for the development of g-C₃N₄ with different dimensionalities and maximises their potential in diverse applications. By reviewing the latest progress of g-C₃N₄ studies, we aim to summarise the preparation of g-C₃N₄ with different dimensionalities using various structural engineering strategies, discuss the fundamental bottlenecks of currently existing methods and their solution strategies, and explore their applications in energy and environmental applications. Furthermore, it also puts forward the views on the future research direction of these unique materials.

     

Hydrothermally grown ZnO nanoflowers for environmental remediation and clean energy applications

Well-crystalline flower-shaped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by simple hydrothermal process at low-temperature of 145 °C and utilized as a photocatalyst and photo-anode material for photocatalytic degradation and dye-sensitized solar cell applications, respectively. The detailed morphological and the structural characterizations revealed that the synthesized products were flower-shaped, grown in very high-density, and possessed well-crystalline wurtzite hexagonal phase. The chemical composition confirmed the pure phase and good optical properties of as-synthesized ZnO flowers. The as-synthesized ZnO flowers were used as an efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B which exhibit ～84% degradation within 140 min. Moreover, the as-synthesized ZnO flowers were utilized as photo-anode material for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) which exhibited overall light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of ～1.38%, open-circuit current (V_OC) of 0.621 V, short-circuit current (J_SC) of ～3.52 mA/cm² and fill factor (FF) of 0.64.     

Emerging applications of MXenes for photodetection: Recent advances and future challenges

The development and applications of transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides, commonly denoted as MXenes, have during the last few years rapidly expanded in various technological fields owing to their unique and controllable properties. These materials exhibit competing performance comparing with traditional materials and have created numerous opportunities for technology markets. Taking the advantage of excellent optoelectronic features, MXenes have been utilized for the construction of photodetectors with various structures and unique functionalities. While the application of MXenes in this area can be traced back to 2016, we have during the recent three years witnessed a dramatic development of MXene-based photodetectors, calling for a timely review to guideline their future direction. In this work, synthetic strategies of pristine MXenes are briefly introduced and their properties are discussed focusing on the optoelectronic aspects that are fundamental for the photoelectric conversion. Recent advances of MXene-based photodetectors are comprehensively summarized based on different types of MXenes and innovative designs of device construction. Finally, we provide perspectives for future challenges and opportunities of MXene-based photodetectors, which may enlighten their further development.     

Chemokine-mimetic plerixafor derivative for tumor-specific delivery of nanomaterials

Nano Research - Here, we report that chemokine-mimetic plerixafor derivatives could govern tumor-specific delivery and functional effects of nanomaterials. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets...     

光催化太阳能转换及环境净化材料的现状和发展趋势

21世纪人类面临的最大课题是能源和环境问题,利用太阳能来解决全球性的能源和环境问题越来越受到人们的重视,各种技术手段应运而生.最近,我们成功地利用可见光响应的半导体光催化材料来分解水和降解有机污染物,实验中还发现如果光催化材料具有合适的能带结构,其光催化的效果就越显著.本文简要评述了光催化材料在太阳能转化和环境净化方面应用的研究背景、现状和发展趋势.     

基于可再生植物多酚的介孔炭材料合成及其环境和能源应用

介孔炭材料具有高比表面积、可调的组成和孔结构、良好的化学稳定性和导电性,被广泛用于环境、催化、能源等领域.碳源是介孔炭合成的关键.植物多酚,作为一种生物质碳源,具有低价、无毒、可再生的优点.且植物多酚具有黏附性和金属络合能力,被广泛用于合成介孔炭复合材料.尽管该领域已取得巨大进展,但关于植物多酚衍生介孔炭的综述还很少....     

新型相变储能材料研究进展

介绍了相变材料的种类、特点以及储能机理,重点论述了新型相变材料的研究发展,对于复合相变材料和胶囊化相变材料做了较为详细的说明,概括了相变材料的主要研究方向.     

Scalable synthesis of sub-100 nm hollow carbon nanospheres for energy storage applications

Sub-100 nm hollow carbon nanospheres with thin shells are highly desirable anode materials for energy storage applications. However, their synthesis remains a great challenge with conventional strategies. In this work, we demonstrate that hollow carbon nanospheres of unprecedentedly small sizes (down to ～32.5 nm and with thickness of ～3.9 nm) can be produced on a large scale by a templating process in a unique reverse micelle system. Reverse micelles enable a spatially confined Stöber process that produces uniform silica nanospheres with significantly reduced sizes compared with those from a conventional Stöber process, and a subsequent well-controlled sol–gel coating process with a resorcinol–formaldehyde resin on these silica nanospheres as a precursor of the hollow carbon nanospheres. Owing to the short diffusion length resulting from their hollow structure, as well as their small size and microporosity, these hollow carbon nanospheres show excellent capacity and cycling stability when used as anode materials for lithium/sodium-ion batteries.

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