Oxygen‐Vacancy and Surface Modulation of Ultrathin Nickel Cobaltite Nanosheets as a High‐Energy Cathode for Advanced Zn‐Ion Batteries

The development of high‐capacity, Earth‐abundant, and stable cathode materials for robust aqueous Zn‐ion batteries is an ongoing challenge. Herein, ultrathin nickel cobaltite (NiCo₂O₄) nanosheets with enriched oxygen vacancies and surface phosphate ions (P–NiCo₂O_4‐x) are reported as a new high‐energy‐density cathode material for rechargeable Zn‐ion batteries. The oxygen‐vacancy and surface phosphate‐ion modulation are achieved by annealing the pristine NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets using a simple phosphating process. Benefiting from the merits of substantially improved electrical conductivity and increased concentration of active sites, the optimized P–NiCo₂O_4‐x nanosheet electrode delivers remarkable capacity (309.2 mAh g^?1 at 6.0 A g^?1) and extraordinary rate performance (64% capacity retention at 60.4 A g^?1). Moreover, based on the P–NiCo₂O_4‐x cathode, our fabricated P–NiCo₂O_4‐x//Zn battery presents an impressive specific capacity of 361.3 mAh g^?1 at the high current density of 3.0 A g^?1 in an alkaline electrolyte. Furthermore, extremely high energy density (616.5 Wh kg^?1) and power density (30.2 kW kg^?1) are also achieved, which outperforms most of the previously reported aqueous Zn‐ion batteries. This ultrafast and high‐energy aqueous Zn‐ion battery is promising for widespread application to electric vehicles and intelligent devices.     

Ionic Liquid‐Controlled Growth of NiCo2S4 3D Hierarchical Hollow Nanoarrow Arrays on Ni Foam for Superior Performance Binder Free Hybrid Supercapacitors

A significant development in the design of a NiCo₂S₄ 3D hierarchical hollow nanoarrow arrays (HNA)‐based supercapacitor binder free electrode assembled by 1D hollow nanoneedles and 2D nanosheets on a Ni foam collector through controlling ionic liquid 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ([OMIm]Cl) concentration is reported. The unique NiCo₂S₄‐HNA electrode acquires high specific capacity (1297 C g^?1 at 1 A g^?1, 2.59 C cm^?2 at 2 mA cm^?2), excellent rate capability (maintaining 73.0% at 20 A g^?1), and long operational life (maintaining 92.4% after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g^?1), which are superior to those for 1D hollow nanoneedle arrays (HNN) and 2D porous nanoflake arrays (PNF). The outstanding electrochemical performance is attributed to the novel 3D structure with large specific surface, hollow cores, high porosity as well as stable architecture. In addition, a hybrid supercapacitor applying 3D NiCo₂S₄‐HNA as the positive electrode and active carbon as the negative electrode exhibits a high energy density of 42.5 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 2684.2 W kg^?1 in an operating voltage of 1.6 V. Robust cycling stability is also expressed with 84.9% retention after repeating 10 000 cycles at 5 A g^?1, implying their great potential in superior‐performance supercapacitors.     

Defect‐Enriched Nitrogen Doped–Graphene Quantum Dots Engineered NiCo2S4 Nanoarray as High‐Efficiency Bifunctional Catalyst for Flexible Zn‐Air Battery

Flexible Zn‐air batteries have recently emerged as one of the key energy storage systems of wearable/portable electronic devices, drawing enormous attention due to the high theoretical energy density, flat working voltage, low cost, and excellent safety. However, the majority of the previously reported flexible Zn‐air batteries encounter problems such as sluggish oxygen reaction kinetics, inferior long‐term durability, and poor flexibility induced by the rigid nature of the air cathode, all of which severely hinder their practical applications. Herein, a defect‐enriched nitrogen doped–graphene quantum dots (N‐GQDs) engineered 3D NiCo₂S₄ nanoarray is developed by a facile chemical sulfuration and subsequent electrophoretic deposition process. The as‐fabricated N‐GQDs/NiCo₂S₄ nanoarray grown on carbon cloth as a flexible air cathode exhibits superior electrocatalytic activities toward both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), outstanding cycle stability (200 h at 20 mA cm^?2), and excellent mechanical flexibility (without observable decay under various bending angles). These impressive enhancements in electrocatalytic performance are mainly attributed to bifunctional active sites within the N‐GQDs/NiCo₂S₄ catalyst and synergistic coupling effects between N‐GQDs and NiCo₂S₄. Density functional theory analysis further reveals that stronger OOH* dissociation adsorption at the interface between N‐GQDs and NiCo₂S₄ lowers the overpotential of both ORR and OER.     

Graphdiyne‐Supported NiCo2S4 Nanowires: A Highly Active and Stable 3D Bifunctional Electrode Material

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and overall water splitting are major energy and chemical conversion efforts. Progress in electrocatalytic reactions have shown that the future is limitless in many fields. However, it is urgent to develop efficient electrocatalysts. Here, the first graphdiyne‐supported efficient and bifunctional electrocatalyst is reported using 3D graphdiyne foam as scaffolds, and NiCo₂S₄ nanowires as building blocks (NiCo₂S₄ NW/GDF). NiCo₂S₄ NW/GDF exhibits outstanding catalytic activity and stability toward both OER and HER, as well as overall water splitting in alkaline media. Remarkably, it enables a high‐performance alkaline water electrolyzer with 10 and 20 mA cm^?2 at very low cell voltages of 1.53 and 1.56 V, respectively, and remarkable stability over 140 h of continuous electrolysis operation at 20 mA cm^?2. The results indicate that this catalyst has a bifunction that overcomes all reported bifunctional, nonprecious‐metal‐based ones.     

Non‐3d Metal Modulation of a 2D Ni–Co Heterostructure Array as Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for Portable Overall Water Splitting

Portable water splitting devices driven by rechargeable metal–air batteries or solar cells are promising, however, their scalable usages are still hindered by lack of suitable multifunctional electrocatalysts. Here, a highly efficient multifunctional electrocatalyst is demonstrated, i.e., 2D nanosheet array of Mo‐doped NiCo₂O₄/Co_5.47N heterostructure deposited on nickel foam (Mo‐NiCo₂O₄/Co_5.47N/NF). The successful doping of non‐3d high‐valence metal into a heterostructured nanosheet array, which is directly grown on a conductive substrate endows the resultant catalyst with balanced electronic structure, highly exposed active sites, and binder‐free electrode architecture. As a result, the Mo‐NiCo₂O₄/Co_5.47N/NF exhibits remarkable catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), affording high current densities of 50 mA cm^?2 at low overpotentials of 310 mV for OER, and 170 mV for HER, respectively. Moreover, a low voltage of 1.56 V is achieved for the Mo‐NiCo₂O₄/Co_5.47N/NF‐based water splitting cell to reach 10 mA cm^?2. More importantly, a portable overall water splitting device is demonstrated through the integration of a water‐splitting cell and two Zn–air batteries (open‐circuit voltage of 1.43 V), which are all fabricated based on Mo‐NiCo₂O₄/Co_5.47N/NF, demonstrating a low‐cost way to generate fuel energy. This work offers an effective strategy to develop high‐performance metal‐doped heterostructured electrode.     

3D Hollow α‐MnO2 Framework as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Lithium–Oxygen Batteries

Lithium–oxygen (Li–O₂) batteries are attracting more attention owing to their superior theoretical energy density compared to conventional Li‐ion battery systems. With regards to the catalytically electrochemical reaction on a cathode, the electrocatalyst plays a key role in determining the performance of Li–O₂ batteries. Herein, a new 3D hollow α‐MnO₂ framework (3D α‐MnO₂) with porous wall assembled by hierarchical α‐MnO₂ nanowires is prepared by a template‐induced hydrothermal reaction and subsequent annealing treatment. Such a distinctive structure provides some essential properties for Li–O₂ batteries including the intrinsic high catalytic activity of α‐MnO₂, more catalytic active sites of hierarchical α‐MnO₂ nanowires on 3D framework, continuous hollow network and rich porosity for the storage of discharge product aggregations, and oxygen diffusion. As a consequence, 3D α‐MnO₂ achieves a high specific capacity of 8583 mA h g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1, a superior rate capacity of 6311 mA h g^?1 at 300 mA g^?1, and a very good cycling stability of 170 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g^?1 with a fixed capacity of 1000 mA h g^?1. Importantly, the presented design strategy of 3D hollow framework in this work could be extended to other catalytic cathode design for Li–O₂ batteries.     

Bifunctional Transition Metal Hydroxysulfides: Room‐Temperature Sulfurization and Their Applications in Zn–Air Batteries

Bifunctional electrocatalysis for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) constitutes the bottleneck of various sustainable energy devices and systems like rechargeable metal–air batteries. Emerging catalyst materials are strongly requested toward superior electrocatalytic activities and practical applications. In this study, transition metal hydroxysulfides are presented as bifunctional OER/ORR electrocatalysts for Zn–air batteries. By simply immersing Co‐based hydroxide precursor into solution with high‐concentration S^2?, transition metal hydroxides convert to hydroxysulfides with excellent morphology preservation at room temperature. The as‐obtained Co‐based metal hydroxysulfides are with high intrinsic reactivity and electrical conductivity. The electron structure of the active sites is adjusted by anion modulation. The potential for 10 mA cm^?2 OER current density is 1.588 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), and the ORR half‐wave potential is 0.721 V versus RHE, with a potential gap of 0.867 V for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis. The Co₃FeS_1.5(OH)₆ hydroxysulfides are employed in the air electrode for a rechargeable Zn–air battery with a small overpotential of 0.86 V at 20.0 mA cm^?2, a high specific capacity of 898 mAh g^?1, and a long cycling life, which is much better than Pt and Ir‐based electrocatalyst in Zn–air batteries.     

One‐Step Route Synthesized Co2P/Ru/N‐Doped Carbon Nanotube Hybrids as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for High‐Performance Li–O2 Batteries

The large‐scale commercial application of lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) is overwhelmed by the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) associated with insoluble and insulated Li₂O₂. Herein, an elaborate design on a highly catalytic LOBs cathode constructed by N‐doped carbon nanotubes (CNT) with in situ encapsulated Co₂P and Ru nanoparticles is reported. The homogeneously dispersed Co₂P and Ru catalysts can effectively modulate the formation and decomposition behavior of Li₂O₂ during discharge/charge processes, ameliorating the electronically insulating property of Li₂O₂ and constructing a homogenous low‐impedance Li₂O₂/catalyst interface. Compared with Co/CNT and Ru/CNT electrodes, the Co₂P/Ru/CNT electrode delivers much higher oxygen reduction triggering onset potential and higher ORR and OER peak current and integral areas, showing greatly improved ORR/OER kinetics due to the synergistic effects of Co₂P and Ru. Li–O₂ cells based on the Ru/Co₂P/CNT electrode demonstrate improved ORR/OER overpotential of 0.75 V, excellent rate capability of 12 800 mAh g^?1 at 1 A g^?1, and superior cycle stability for more than 185 cycles under a restricted capacity of 1000 mAh g^?1 at 100 mA g^?1. This work paves an exciting avenue for the design and construction of bifunctional catalytic cathodes by coupling metal phosphides with other active components in LOBs.     

Highly Active Core–Shell Carbon/NiCo2O4 Double Microtubes for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Ultralow Overpotential and Superior Cycling Stability

Developing highly efficient electrocatalysts with earth abundant elements for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a promising way to store light or electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. Here, a new type of electrocatalyst with core–shell carbon/NiCo₂O₄ double microtubes architecture is successfully synthesized through a hydrothermal method combined with the calcination process with wet tissues as the template and carbon resource. The outer NiCo₂O₄ nanosheet arrays contain abundant defects, which come from reduction of the carbon in wet tissues. This indicates that carbon is a very excellent defect inducer. The inner carbon microtubes can act as the robust structure skeleton and these core–shell double microtubes provide abundant diffusion channels for oxygen and electrolyte, both of which contribute to improving the stability by avoiding damage to the electrode from produced O₂ bubbles and the collapse of the outer NiCo₂O₄ microtubes. Electrochemical results show that the electrode, core–shell carbon/NiCo₂O₄ double microtubes loaded on carbon cloth, exhibits prominent electrocatalytic activity with an overpotential of only 168 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 and a Tafel slope as low as 57.6 mV dec^?1 in 1.0 mol L^?1 KOH. This new type of electrocatalyst possesses great potential in water electrolyzers and rechargeable metal–air batteries.     

In Situ Encapsulating α‐MnS into N,S‐Codoped Nanotube‐Like Carbon as Advanced Anode Material: α → β Phase Transition Promoted Cycling Stability and Superior Li/Na‐Storage Performance in Half/Full Cells

Incorporation of N,S‐codoped nanotube‐like carbon (N,S‐NTC) can endow electrode materials with superior electrochemical properties owing to the unique nanoarchitecture and improved kinetics. Herein, α‐MnS nanoparticles (NPs) are in situ encapsulated into N,S‐NTC, preparing an advanced anode material (α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC) for lithium‐ion/sodium‐ion batteries (LIBs/SIBs). It is for the first time revealed that electrochemical α → β phase transition of MnS NPs during the 1st cycle effectively promotes Li‐storage properties, which is deduced by the studies of ex situ X‐ray diffraction/high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and electrode kinetics. As a result, the optimized α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC electrode delivers a high Li‐storage capacity (1415 mA h g^?1 at 50 mA g^?1), excellent rate capability (430 mA h g^?1 at 10 A g^?1), and long‐term cycling stability (no obvious capacity decay over 5000 cycles at 1 A g^?1) with retained morphology. In addition, the N,S‐NTC‐based encapsulation plays the key roles on enhancing the electrochemical properties due to its high conductivity and unique 1D nanoarchitecture with excellent protective effects to active MnS NPs. Furthermore, α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC also delivers high Na‐storage capacity (536 mA h g^?1 at 50 mA g^?1) without the occurrence of such α → β phase transition and excellent full‐cell performances as coupling with commercial LiFePO₄ and LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn_0.2O₂ cathodes in LIBs as well as Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F cathode in SIBs.     

Co Nanoparticles Confined in 3D Nitrogen‐Doped Porous Carbon Foams as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Long‐Life Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

Proper design and simple preparation of nonnoble bifunctional electrocatalysts with high cost performance and strong durability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly demanded but still full of enormous challenges. In this work, a spontaneous gas‐foaming strategy is presented to synthesize cobalt nanoparticles confined in 3D nitrogen‐doped porous carbon foams (CoNCF) by simply carbonizing the mixture of citric acid, NH₄Cl, and Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O. Thanks to its particular 3D porous foam architecture, ultrahigh specific surface area (1641 m² g^?1), and homogeneous distribution of active sites (C–N, Co–N_x, and Co–O moieties), the optimized CoNCF‐1000‐80 (carbonized at 1000 °C, containing 80 mg Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O in precursors) catalyst exhibits a remarkable bifunctional activity and long‐term durability toward both ORR and OER. Its bifunctional activity parameter (ΔE) is as low as 0.84 V, which is much smaller than that of noble metal catalyst and comparable to state‐of‐the‐art bifunctional catalysts. When worked as an air electrode catalyst in rechargeable Zn–air batteries, a high energy density (797 Wh kg^?1), a low charge/discharge voltage gap (0.75 V), and a long‐term cycle stability (over 166 h) are achieved at 10 mA cm^?2.     

Efficient Laser‐Induced Construction of Oxygen‐Vacancy Abundant Nano‐ZnCo2O4/Porous Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrids toward Exceptional Capacitive Lithium Storage

Recently, binary ZnCo₂O₄ has drawn enormous attention for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) as attractive anode owing to its large theoretical capacity and good environmental benignity. However, the modest electrical conductivity and serious volumetric effect/particle agglomeration over cycling hinder its extensive applications. To address the concerns, herein, a rapid laser‐irradiation methodology is firstly devised toward efficient synthesis of oxygen‐vacancy abundant nano‐ZnCo₂O₄/porous reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrids as anodes for LIBs. The synergistic contributions from nano‐dimensional ZnCo₂O₄ with rich oxygen vacancies and flexible rGO guarantee abundant active sites, fast electron/ion transport, and robust structural stability, and inhibit the agglomeration of nanoscale ZnCo₂O₄, favoring for superb electrochemical lithium‐storage performance. More encouragingly, the optimal L‐ZCO@rGO‐30 anode exhibits a large reversible capacity of ≈1053 mAh g^?1 at 0.05 A g^?1, excellent cycling stability (≈746 mAh g^?1 at 1.0 A g^?1 after 250 cycles), and preeminent rate capability (≈686 mAh g^?1 at 3.2 A g^?1). Further kinetic analysis corroborates that the capacitive‐controlled process dominates the involved electrochemical reactions of hybrid anodes. More significantly, this rational design holds the promise of being extended for smart fabrication of other oxygen‐vacancy abundant metal oxide/porous rGO hybrids toward advanced LIBs and beyond.     

Porous Carbon Nanofibers Encapsulated with Peapod‐Like Hematite Nanoparticles for High‐Rate and Long‐Life Battery Anodes

Fe₂O₃ is regarded as a promising anode material for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high specific capacity. The large volume change during discharge and charge processes, however, induces significant cracking of the Fe₂O₃ anodes, leading to rapid fading of the capacity. Herein, a novel peapod‐like nanostructured material, consisting of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles homogeneously encapsulated in the hollow interior of N‐doped porous carbon nanofibers, as a high‐performance anode material is reported. The distinctive structure not only provides enough voids to accommodate the volume expansion of the pea‐like Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles but also offers a continuous conducting framework for electron transport and accessible nanoporous channels for fast diffusion and transport of Li/Na‐ions. As a consequence, this peapod‐like structure exhibits a stable discharge capacity of 1434 mAh g^?1 (at 100 mA g^?1) and 806 mAh g^?1 (at 200 mA g^?1) over 100 cycles as anode materials for LIBs and SIBs, respectively. More importantly, a stable capacity of 958 mAh g^?1 after 1000 cycles and 396 mAh g^?1 after 1500 cycles can be achieved for LIBs and SIBs, respectively, at a large current density of 2000 mA g^?1. This study provides a promising strategy for developing long‐cycle‐life LIBs and SIBs.     

Zirconium‐Regulation‐Induced Bifunctionality in 3D Cobalt–Iron Oxide Nanosheets for Overall Water Splitting

The design of high‐efficiency non‐noble bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is paramount for water splitting technologies and associated renewable energy systems. Spinel‐structured oxides with rich redox properties can serve as alternative low‐cost OER electrocatalysts but with poor HER performance. Here, zirconium regulation in 3D CoFe₂O₄ (CoFeZr oxides) nanosheets on nickel foam, as a novel strategy inducing bifunctionality toward OER and HER for overall water splitting, is reported. It is found that the incorporation of Zr into CoFe₂O₄ can tune the nanosheet morphology and electronic structure around the Co and Fe sites for optimizing adsorption energies, thus effectively enhancing the intrinsic activity of active sites. The as‐synthesized 3D CoFeZr oxide nanosheet exhibits high OER activity with small overpotential, low Tafel slope, and good stability. Moreover, it shows unprecedented HER activity with a small overpotential of 104 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 in alkaline media, which is better than ever reported counterparts. When employing the CoFeZr oxides nanosheets as both anode and cathode catalysts for overall water splitting, a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 is achieved at the cell voltage of 1.63 V in 1.0 m KOH.     

Multifunctional Electroactive Heteroatom‐Doped Carbon Aerogels

The design and synthesis of highly active, durable, and cheap nanomaterials for various renewable energy storage and conversion applications is extremely desirable but remains challenging. Here, a green and efficient strategy to produce CoO_x nanoparticles and surface N‐co‐doped carbon aerogels (Co‐N‐CAs) is reported by multicomponent surface self‐assembly of commercially melamine sponge (CMS). In the methodology, the CMS simultaneously function as green N precursor for surface N doping and 3D support. The resulting Co‐N‐CAs exhibit 3D hierarchical, interconnected macro‐ and bimodal meso‐porosity (6.3 nm and <4 nm), high surface area (1383 m² g^?1), and highly dispersed, semi‐exposured CoO_x nanoparticles (diameter of 12.5 nm). The surface doping of N, semi‐exposured configuration of CoO_x nanoparticles and the penetrated complementary pores (<4 nm) in the carbon walls provide highly accessibility between electroactive components and electrolytes to improve reactivity. With their tailored architecture, the Co‐N‐CAs show superior electrocatalytic oxygen reduction (ORR) activities comparable to the commercially Pt/C catalysts, high specific capacitance (433 F g^?1), excellent lithium storage (938 mAh g^?1), and outstanding durability, making them very promising for advanced energy conversion and storage. In addition, the presented strategy can be extended to fabricate other metal oxide‐ and N‐ co‐doped carbon aerogels for diverse energy‐related applications.     

Ultrafine Co3O4 Nanoparticles within Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Matrix Derived from Metal–Organic Complex for Boosting Lithium Storage and Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Transition metal oxides have recently received great attention for application in advanced lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, the ethylenediaminetetraacetic cobalt complex as a precursor to synthesize ultrafine Co₃O₄ nanoparticles encapsulated into a nitrogen‐doped carbon matrix (NC) composites is presented. The as‐prepared Co₃O₄/NC‐350 obtained by pyrolysis at 350 °C demonstrates superior rate performance (372 mAh g^?1 at 5.0 A g^?1) and high cycling stability (92% capacity retention after 300 cycles at 1.0 A g^?1) as anode for LIBs. When evaluated as an electrocatalyst for OER, the Co₃O₄/NC‐350 achieves an overpotential of 298 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2. The NC‐encapsualted porous hierarchical structure assures fast and continuous electron transportation, high activity sites, and strong structural integrity. This works offers novel complex precursors for synthesizing transition metal–based electrodes for boosting electrochemical energy conversion and storage.     

Bimetal‐Organic‐Framework Derivation of Ball‐Cactus‐Like Ni‐Sn‐P@C‐CNT as Long‐Cycle Anode for Lithium Ion Battery

Metal phosphides are a new class of potential high‐capacity anodes for lithium ion batteries, but their short cycle life is the critical problem to hinder its practical application. A unique ball‐cactus‐like microsphere of carbon coated NiP₂/Ni₃Sn₄ with deep‐rooted carbon nanotubes (Ni‐Sn‐P@C‐CNT) is demonstrated in this work to solve this problem. Bimetal‐organic‐frameworks (BMOFs, Ni‐Sn‐BTC, BTC refers to 1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylic acid) are formed by a two‐step uniform microwave‐assisted irradiation approach and used as the precursor to grow Ni‐Sn@C‐CNT, Ni‐Sn‐P@C‐CNT, yolk–shell Ni‐Sn@C, and Ni‐Sn‐P@C. The uniform carbon overlayer is formed by the decomposition of organic ligands from MOFs and small CNTs are deeply rooted in Ni‐Sn‐P@C microsphere due to the in situ catalysis effect of Ni‐Sn. Among these potential anode materials, the Ni‐Sn‐P@C‐CNT is found to be a promising anode with best electrochemical properties. It exhibits a large reversible capacity of 704 mA h g^?1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA g^?1 and excellent high‐rate cycling performance (a stable capacity of 504 mA h g^?1 retained after 800 cycles at 1 A g^?1). These good electrochemical properties are mainly ascribed to the unique 3D mesoporous structure design along with dual active components showing synergistic electrochemical activity within different voltage windows.     

Stable High‐Index Faceted Pt Skin on Zigzag‐Like PtFe Nanowires Enhances Oxygen Reduction Catalysis

Selectively exposing active surfaces and judiciously tuning the near‐surface composition of electrode materials represent two prominent means of promoting electrocatalytic performance. Here, a new class of Pt₃Fe zigzag‐like nanowires (Pt‐skin Pt₃Fe z‐NWs) with stable high‐index facets (HIFs) and nanosegregated Pt‐skin structure is reported, which are capable of substantially boosting electrocatalysis in fuel cells. These unique structural features endow the Pt‐skin Pt₃Fe z‐NWs with a mass activity of 2.11 A mg^?1 and a specifc activity of 4.34 mA cm^?2 for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at 0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, which are the highest in all reported PtFe‐based ORR catalysts. Density function theory calculations reveal a combination of exposed HIFs and formation of Pt‐skin structure, leading to an optimal oxygen adsorption energy due to the ligand and strain effects, which is responsible for the much enhanced ORR activities. In contrast to previously reported HIFs‐based catalysts, the Pt‐skin Pt₃Fe z‐NWs maintain ultrahigh durability with little activity decay and negligible structure transformation after 50 000 potential cycles. Overcoming a key technical barrier in electrocatalysis, this work successfully extends the nanosegregated Pt‐skin structure to nanocatalysts with HIFs, heralding the exciting prospects of high‐effcient Pt‐based catalysts in fuel cells.     

Binder‐Free and Carbon‐Free 3D Porous Air Electrode for Li‐O2 Batteries with High Efficiency,High Capacity,and Long Life

Pt‐Gd alloy polycrystalline thin film is deposited on 3D nickel foam by pulsed laser deposition method serving as a whole binder/carbon‐free air electrode, showing great catalytic activity enhancement as an efficient bifunctional catalyst for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions in lithium oxygen batteries. The porous structure can facilitate rapid O₂ and electrolyte diffusion, as well as forming a continuous conductive network throughout the whole energy conversion process. It shows a favorable cycle performance in the full discharge/charge model, owing to the high catalytic activity of the Pt‐Gd alloy composite and 3D porous nickel foam structure. Specially, excellent cycling performance under capacity limited mode is also demonstrated, in which the terminal discharge voltage is higher than 2.5 V and the terminal charge voltage is lower than 3.7 V after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.1 mA cm^?2. Therefore, this electrocatalyst is a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst for lithium oxygen batteries and this depositing high‐efficient electrocatalyst on porous substrate with polycrystalline thin film by pulsed laser deposition is also a promising technique in the future lithium oxygen batteries research.     

Co@Co3O4 Core–Shell Three‐Dimensional Nano‐Network for High‐Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage

An alternative routine is presented by constructing a novel architecture, conductive metal/transition oxide (Co@Co₃O₄) core–shell three‐dimensional nano‐network (3DN) by surface oxidating Co 3DN in situ, for high‐performance electrochemical capacitors. It is found that the Co@Co₃O₄ core–shell 3DN consists of petal‐like nanosheets with thickness of <10 nm interconnected forming a 3D porous nanostructure, which preserves the original morphology of Co 3DN well. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy by polishing the specimen layer by layer reveals that the Co@Co₃O₄ nano‐network is core–shell‐like structure. In the application of electrochemical capacitors, the electrodes exhibit a high specific capacitance of 1049 F g^?1 at scan rate of 2 mV/s with capacitance retention of ～52.05% (546 F g^?1 at scan rate of 100 mV) and relative high areal mass density of 850 F g^?1 at areal mass of 3.52 mg/cm². It is believed that the good electrochemical behaviors mainly originate from its extremely high specific surface area and underneath core‐Co “conductive network”. The high specific surface area enables more electroactive sites for efficient Faradaic redox reactions and thus enhances ion and electron diffusion. The underneath core‐Co “conductive network” enables an ultrafast electron transport.