Non-Flammable Liquid and Quasi-Solid Electrolytes toward Highly-Safe Alkali Metal-Based Batteries

Rechargeable alkali metal (i.e., lithium, sodium, potassium)-based batteries are considered as vital energy storage technologies in modern society. However, the traditional liquid electrolytes applied in alkali metal-based batteries mainly consist of thermally unstable salts and highly flammable organic solvents, which trigger numerous accidents related to fire, explosion, and leakage of toxic chemicals. Therefore, exploring non-flammable electrolytes is of paramount importance for achieving safe batteries. Although replacing traditional liquid electrolytes with all-solid-state electrolytes is the ultimate way to solve the above safety issues, developing non-flammable liquid electrolytes can more directly fulfill the current needs considering the low ionic conductivities and inferior interfacial properties of existing all-solid-state electrolytes. Moreover, the electrolyte leakage concern can be further resolved by gelling non-flammable liquid electrolytes to obtain quasi-solid electrolytes. Herein, a comprehensive review of the latest progress in emerging non-flammable liquid electrolytes, including non-flammable organic liquid electrolytes, aqueous electrolytes, and deep eutectic solvent-based electrolytes is provided, and systematically introduce their flame-retardant mechanisms and electrochemical behaviors in alkali metal-based batteries. Then, the gelation techniques for preparing quasi-solid electrolytes are also summarized. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives are presented. It is anticipated that this review will promote a safety improvement of alkali metal-based batteries.     

Ultrahigh‐Working‐Frequency Embedded Supercapacitors with 1T Phase MoSe2 Nanosheets for System‐in‐Package Application

Commercial aluminium electrolyte capacitors (AECs) are too large for integration in future highly integrated electronic systems. Supercapacitors, in comparison, possess a much higher capacitance per unit volume and can be embedded as passive capacitors to address such challenges in electronics scaling. However, the slow frequency response (<10¹ Hz) typical of supercapacitors is a major hurdle to their practical application. Here, it is demonstrated that 1T‐phase MoSe₂ nanosheets obtained by laser‐induced phase transformation can be used as an electrode material in embedded micro‐supercapacitors. The metallic nature of MoSe₂ nanosheet‐based electrodes provides excellent electron‐ and ion‐transport properties, which leads to an unprecedented high‐frequency response (up to 10⁴ Hz) and cycle stability (up to 10⁶ cycles) when integrated in supercapacitors, and their power density can be ten times higher than that of commercial AECs. Furthermore, fabrication processes of the present device are fully compatible with system‐in‐package device manufacturing to meet stringent specifications for the size of embedded components. The present research represents a critical step forward in in‐package and on‐chip applications of electrolytic capacitors.     

Performance Enhancement of Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerator via Doping and Rational 3D Structure Design For Self‐Powered Mechanosensational System

With the rapid development of the Internet of things (IoT), flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG) have attracted extensive attention for harvesting environmental mechanical energy to power electronics and nanosystems. Herein, porous piezoelectric fillers with samarium/titanium‐doped BiFeO₃ (BFO) are prepared by a freeze‐drying method, and then silicone rubber is filled into the microvoids of the piezoelectric ceramics, forming a unique structure based on silicone rubber matrix with uniformly distributed piezoelectric ceramic. When subjected to external force stimulation, compared with conventional piezocomposite films found on undoped BFO without a porous structure, the PENG possesses higher stress transfer ability and thus boosts output performance. The notable enhancement in the stress transfer ability and piezoelectric potential is proven by COMSOL simulations. The PENG can exhibit a maximum open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 16 V and short‐circuit current (I_sc) of 2.8 µA, which is 5.3 and 5.6 times higher than those of conventional piezocomposite films, respectively. The PENG can be used as a triggering signal to control the operation of fire extinguishers and household appliances. This work not only expands the application scope of lead‐free piezoelectric ceramic for energy harvesting, but also provides a novel solution for self‐powered mechanosensation and shows great potential application in IoT.     

A Functionalized Carbon Surface for High‐Performance Sodium‐Ion Storage

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) are promising for large‐scale energy storage systems and carbon materials are the most likely candidates for their electrodes. The existence of defects in carbon materials is crucial for increasing the sodium storage ability. However, both the reversible capacity and efficiency need to be further improved. Functionalization is a direct and feasible approach to address this issue. Based on the structural changes in carbon materials produced by surface functionalization, three basic categories are defined: heteroatom doping, grafting of functional groups, and the shielding of defects. Heteroatom doping can improve the electrochemical reactivity, and the grafting of functional groups can promote both the diffusion‐controlled bulk process and surface‐confined capacitive process. The shielding of defects can further increase the efficiency and cyclic stability without sacrificing reversible capacity. In this Review, recent progresses in the ways to produce surface functionalization are presented and the related impact on the physical and chemical properties of carbon materials is discussed. Moreover, the critical issues, challenges, and possibilities for future research are summarized.     

Progress on Lithium Dendrite Suppression Strategies from the Interior to Exterior by Hierarchical Structure Designs

Lithium (Li) metal is promising for high energy density batteries due to its low electrochemical potential (?3.04 V) and high specific capacity (3860 mAh g^?1). However, the safety issues impede the commercialization of Li anode batteries. In this work, research of hierarchical structure designs for Li anodes to suppress Li dendrite growth and alleviate volume expansion from the interior (by the 3D current collector and host matrix) to the exterior (by the artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), protective layer, separator, and solid state electrolyte) is concluded. The basic principles for achieving Li dendrite and volume expansion free Li anode are summarized. Following these principles, 3D porous current collector and host matrix are designed to suppress the Li dendrite growth from the interior. Second, artificial SEI, the protective layer, and separator as well as solid‐state electrolyte are constructed to regulate the distribution of current and control the Li nucleation and deposition homogeneously for suppressing the Li dendrite growth from exterior of Li anode. Ultimately, this work puts forward that it is significant to combine the Li dendrite suppression strategies from the interior to exterior by 3D hierarchical structure designs and Li metal modification to achieve excellent cycling and safety performance of Li metal batteries.     

Realizing Ultralow Concentration Gelation of Graphene Oxide with Artificial Interfaces

Understanding the chemistry in the gelation (interfacial assembly) of graphene oxide (GO) is very essential for the practical uses of graphene‐based materials. Herein, with the designed artificial interfaces due to the introduction of water‐miscible isopropanol, the gelation of GO is achieved in water at an ultralow concentration (0.1 mg mL^?1, the lowest ever‐reported) with a solvothermal treatment. Intrinsically, with a lower intercalation energy, water shows much stronger attraction with GO than isopropanol, inducing a microphase separation in the miscible mixture of isopropanol and water. In the solvothermal process, the partially reduced GO sheets interact with each other along the water–isopropanol interface and assemble into interconnected frameworks. In general, the formation of the artificial interface results in locally concentrated GO in the water phase, which is the final driving force for the gelation at ultralow concentration. Thus, the threshold for the GO gelation concentration is dependent upon the water fraction in the mixture and water acts as the spacer to facilitate the gelation and final control of the resulting materials microstructure. This study enriches interface/gelation chemistry of GO and indicates a practical way for precise structural control and scale‐up preparation of graphene‐based materials.     

二齿差摆盘式活齿传动的结构与齿形分析

摆盘式活齿传动作为一种轴向活齿传动,具有径向尺寸小的突出特点,但其应用受到自身结构复杂以及载荷与力偶不平衡等因素的限制。本文通过理论计算、建模仿真、作图分析与控制变量等方法,运用Pro/E与MATLAB等软件,对摆盘式活齿传动进行了结构改进与齿形研究。本文在摆盘式活齿传动现有研究成果的基础上,通过理论计算推导出了摆盘式活齿传动的二齿差形式及相应的运动方程与齿形方程,设计出了两相激波器的新结构;对特征零件端齿轮进行了三维建模并对齿面的曲率分布进行了仿真分析,分别研究了曲率沿分度圆柱面的变化情况以及曲率在空间全齿面上的分布情况;通过质点的瞬时圆周运动模型确定了空间全齿面上的齿顶位置,推导出了齿顶处的坐标向量与曲率半径的计算式;研究了平面活齿传动中的顶切现象及原理,由此计算出了二齿差摆盘式活齿传动中顶切的边界条件;用控制变量法分别分析了分度圆半径、传动比、振幅及活齿半径等参数对齿形的影响情况,运用相对偏差的概念在同一坐标系中研究了各参数对齿形的影响程度的大小。研究发现,二齿差摆盘式活齿传动中端齿轮的实际齿顶点位于分度圆柱面的内部而不在柱面上,四个重要参数的变化如分度圆半径减小、传动比增大、振幅增大、活齿半径增大均将导致齿形收窄变尖并引发顶切,其中前两者的变化实质是改变了齿形的周向分布周期,且影响程度较大,是主要影响因素,而后两者的变化实际上改变了齿形的轴向分布范围。     

区块链支持下的微网电力市场设计及调度优化

为了发挥微网电力市场的活力,实现清洁能源的优化配置,在区块链支持下,针对微网电力市场的调度优化进行了研究。基于微网市场和区块链相似的网络拓扑结构,构建了基于区块链的微网市场总体框架。通过区块链管理平台获取数据信息,结合模型预测控制(MPC)方法,对微网市场调度运行进行优化。以IEEE 33节点系统为算例进行分析,结果验证了区块链支持下的微网交易模型的有效性,表明通过区块链管理平台结合MPC进行优化调度,增强了微网市场的鲁棒性,提高了电力交易过程中负荷功率预测的准确性以及能源利用率。