Article
Electrochemistry
Xue Hu, Yinhui Li, Zan Chen, Cuijia Duan, Biao Yuan
Summary: A F-TiO2/PMIA composite separator with thermotolerance and mechanical robustness is designed and fabricated, showing excellent mechanical properties and flame resistance. It possesses the highest ionic conductivity and delivers high initial discharge capacity and cycle stability. This novel composite separator offers promising commercial prospects in future high-safety and high-performance energy applications.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Amrit Kumar Thakur, Anuj Kumar, Hyeona Park, Hyerim Kim, Mohammad Shamsuddin Ahmed, Ahmed Mortuza Saleque, Muthuraman Ponrajan Vikram, R. Saidur, Yanbao Ma, Jang-Yeon Hwang
Summary: This article discusses the fundamental properties and requirements of separators for rechargeable lithium batteries, and introduces the methods of modifying traditional separators to obtain functional composite separators. Composite separators can improve the thermal safety and performance of batteries, including Li+ conductivity, structural integrity, and wettability.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Liying Wang, Yuhan Liu, Xinwei Du, Xiaohui Guo, Qi Zhao, Yuliang Wang, Zhangnan Li, Baijun Liu, Zhaoyan Sun, Yongfeng Men, Wei Hu
Summary: To overcome the limitations of polyethylene separator for lithium-ion batteries, a composite solution of poly(ether ketone) and carbon nanoparticles obtained from nanocellulose carbonization in sulfuric acid was used to modify the separator. The resulting Janus composite separator exhibited high thermal stability, excellent electrolyte loading rate, and improved battery performance. The introduction of carbon nanoparticles provided additional oxidation sites and enhanced ion conductivity, reducing charge transfer resistance.
COMPOSITES COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lupeng Zhang, Xinle Li, Mingrui Yang, Weihua Chen
Summary: This review highlights the importance of safety in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, with a focus on the development of high-safety separators. It summarizes the key considerations for these separators and outlines the challenges and perspectives in their development direction.
ENERGY STORAGE MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mao Qian, Yakun Tang, Lang Liu, Yang Gao, Xiaohui Li
Summary: Cubic spinel Li4Ti5O12 is a desired anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to high stability and good safety, while Li2CoTi3O8 with added cobalt shows enhanced performance as both anode material for LIBs and sulfur host material for LSBs. The nanoparticles of Li2CoTi3O8 exhibit improved specific capacity and rate capability for LIBs, as well as stable capacity retention for LSBs, making it a promising material for advanced energy storage systems.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maria Carter, Mihit H. Parekh, Vikas Tomar, J. Eric Dietz, Vilas G. Pol
Summary: Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various applications due to their desirable energy storage characteristics, but they are prone to thermal runaway. By using vermiculite as a separator lining, the battery demonstrated enhanced safety by releasing less exothermic energy during thermal runaway and having a higher separator melting temperature.
APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mingxia Wu, Chongyang Yang, Hengheng Xia, Jiaqiang Xu
Summary: The cellulose separator demonstrates the best comprehensive performance in high-power lithium-ion batteries due to its high porosity, excellent electrolyte uptake and ionic conductivity, outstanding electrolyte wettability, and good heat resistance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Bo Keun Park, Kyoung Ho Kim, Yong Gab Kwon, Jin Hyeok Yang, Yong Min Kim, Dae-Woong Nam, Ki Jae Kim
Summary: Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have gained attention as alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the abundance of sodium resources and similar electrochemical properties. However, current separators used in LIBs have poor compatibility with SIBs, necessitating the development of a separator with the advantages of a thin polyethylene (PE) separator and the open-pore structure and polar properties of a glass fiber (GF) separator. In this study, a custom-made separator, PAN-AlOOH separator, was proposed for SIBs, integrating highly polar boehmite (AlOOH) particles into a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) separator using electrospinning. The PAN-AlOOH separator exhibited excellent thermal stability, dimensional stability, wettability, and ionic conductivity, outperforming Na full cells employing a GF separator.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Mihit H. Parekh, Suyash Oka, Jodie Lutkenhaus, Vilas G. Pol
Summary: Ionically conducting, porous separator membranes play a crucial role in lithium-ion batteries, and advanced separators with superior thermal stability and mechanical strength are needed for next-generation batteries. The aramid nanofiber separators processed and tested in this study outperformed commercial polypropylene separators in terms of mechanical properties, electrochemical performance, and thermal safety aspects.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Pengbo Nie, Si-Wei Zhang, Aihua Ran, Canhui Yang, Shuxiao Chen, Zhenlong Li, Xuan Zhang, Weiwei Deng, Ting Liu, Feiyu Kang, Guodan Wei
Summary: This paper establishes an electrochemical-thermal coupling model to simulate the behavior of lithium-ion batteries during charge-discharge cycles and pulse tests. The simulation results show that battery temperature rises sharply during discharge, providing insights for early detection and prevention of safety issues.
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hui Chen, Youlong Fang, Xingwei Liu, Xiaoyu Jiang, Faping Zhong, Hanxi Yang, Xinping Ai, Yuliang Cao
Summary: The PESP separator, fabricated using a facile electrospinning approach, exhibits appropriate shutdown behavior and dimensional integrity, along with enhanced rate performance and electrolyte wettability, making it a promising option for next-generation high-safety batteries.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yang Wang, Minhao Guo, Hui Fu, Zhenzhong Wu, Yizhe Zhang, Guojie Chao, Suli Chen, Longsheng Zhang, Tianxi Liu
Summary: This article presents a facile and scalable strategy to prepare thermotolerant separators of cross-linked PI fibers with a narrowed pore size via blended electrospinning and thermal imidization. The resulting separator exhibits higher porosity, better electrolyte adsorption, and higher ionic conductivity, leading to greatly enhanced electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Madhushri Bhar, Udita Bhattacharjee, Kaliprasad Yalamanchili, Surendra K. Martha
Summary: The forefront of current lithium-ion battery technology is focused on dealing with the massive amount of e-waste generated by end-of-life batteries. This study presents an effective strategy to recycle the waste separator into valuable carbon, which exhibits higher capacity than recovered graphite anodes. However, the poor conversion efficiency and low product yield after carbonization may hinder large-scale implementation. By combining the recycled graphite with the recycled carbon derived from the separator, the composite demonstrates enhanced capacity and Li-ion diffusivity for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yu Cao, Hong Wu, Gang Li, Cheng Liu, Li Cao, Yiming Zhang, Wei Bao, Huili Wang, Yuan Yao, Shuo Liu, Fusheng Pan, Zhongyi Jiang, Jie Sun
Summary: The authors successfully fabricated an ion selective TpPa-SO3Li film on a commercial separator, with aligned nanochannels and continuous negatively charged sites to facilitate lithium ion conduction and suppress polysulfide diffusion. When using this novel functional layer, Li-S batteries exhibited high initial capacity and retention rate.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Lenin W. Kum, Ashish Gogia, Nick Vallo, Deependra Kumar Singh, Jitendra Kumar
Summary: Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in modern electronics and electric vehicles due to their high energy and power densities, cycle-life, and safety. This study presents a simple method to improve the high-voltage charge capability of LIBs by applying an artificial cathode-electrolyte interface (Li+-ACEI) on the state-of-the-art cathode, LiCoO2 (LCO). The application of Li+-ACEI using a superionic ceramic Li+ ion conductor, lithium aluminum germanium phosphate (LAGP), results in reduced charge-transfer resistance, higher discharge capacity, higher Coulombic efficiency, and higher rate capability of the LCO cathodes.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Raheleh Givehchi, Bowen Du, Maryam Razavi, Zhongchao Tan, Jeffrey Siegel
Summary: This study compared the filtration efficiency of nanofibrous media mounted in portable air purifiers and cone-shaped filter holders, finding a similar trend in filtration efficiency curves despite differences in influencing factors. Long-term operation, surface area blockage, and isopropyl alcohol treatment adversely impacted the filtration efficiency of the tested nanofibrous media, with varying degrees of impact for different media. The filtration efficiencies were lower than reported in previous literature, possibly due to differences in various factors such as medium type, fiber diameter, and filter thickness.
AEROSOL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Sadra Souzanchi, Laleh Nazari, Kasanneni Tirumala Venkateswara Rao, Zhongshun Yuan, Zhongchao Tan, Chunbao (Charles) Xu
Summary: This study demonstrated the use of industrial-grade sugar syrups derived from corn and wood as cost-effective and competitive feedstocks for 5-HMF production. The catalyst used showed stability and could be regenerated in-situ, although it resulted in slightly lower glucose conversion and reduced 5-HMF yield compared to the fresh catalyst. The humins produced during the reaction exhibited high aromaticity and contained a high degree of unsaturated compounds.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xiaoxiao Yang, Hui Zhou, Qinghai Li, Zhongchao Tan, Yanguo Zhang
Summary: This paper presents an experimental study on the changes in equivalent diameter and sphericity of flying molten slag particles with heating temperature and nitrogen injection pressure. The results show that the equivalent diameter and sphericity remain the same during the flight, while rod-shaped particles gradually change to spherical ones during granulation. The average flying speed of the particles increases with temperature and injection pressure.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yunpei Cui, Xiaoxiang Huang, Teng Wang, Liuhu Jia, Qianqian Nie, Zhongchao Tan, Hesheng Yu
Summary: In this study, a visible light-driven photocatalyst GQDs/CN was proposed for the degradation of NO pollutants. The experimental results showed that the GQDs/CN heterojunction exhibited high catalytic activity and stability, effectively degrading NO by increasing the specific surface area and promoting light absorption.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yifu Li, Hesheng Yu, Yi Zhang, Norman Zhou, Zhongchao Tan
Summary: This study develops two kinetics models for the in-situ polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy) and identifies the most suitable mechanism by comparing the model results with experimental data. The results show that the overall reaction rate of in-situ polymerization with electrospun fibrous template is faster due to enhanced reactions between oxidized pyrrole oligomers and neutral monomers. The obtained composite membrane exhibits well-developed fibrous nanostructure, good electrical conductivity, sufficient mechanical strength, and relatively stable thermal properties.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lizhen Hu, Teng Wang, Qianqian Nie, Jiayou Liu, Yunpei Cui, Kefei Zhang, Zhongchao Tan, Hesheng Yu
Summary: Efficient, stable, and selective photocatalytic conversion of nitric oxide (NO) into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is highly desired but challenging. In this study, a single atom catalyst (SAC) was prepared by anchoring single Pd atoms onto graphitic carbon nitride (CNPd) via chemical impregnation followed by calcination. The SAC exhibited superior performance in terms of selectivity and stability compared to previous catalysts for photocatalytic removal of NO under visible light and simulated sunlight. The experimental results and density functional theory calculations revealed that the single Pd atom promoted the photocatalytic degradation of NO and the nitrate ions accumulated on the SAC surface reacted with NO to produce NO2, enhancing the selectivity and stability of the catalyst.
Article
Thermodynamics
Xiaolin Yang, Kefei Zhang, Chao Ni, Hua Cao, Jesse The, Guangyuan Xie, Zhongchao Tan, Hesheng Yu
Summary: In this study, a novel hybrid model called convolution-attention parallel network (CAPNet) is proposed for rapid and accurate determination of ash content in coal flotation concentrate by analyzing froth images. The CAPNet model, combining the classic CNN model (ResNet) and attention mechanism, outperforms baseline models in terms of accuracy and stability. It significantly reduces the ash determination time and improves the automation and intelligence level of coal flotation.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yifu Li, Yi Zhang, Norman Zhou, Hesheng Yu, Zhongchao Tan
Summary: This paper reports a redox-active separator based on Fe(CN)(6)(4-) doped polypyrrole (PPy) composite nanofibers, which can enhance the capacity of lithium-ion batteries by participating in battery reactions. The optimized redox-active separator has higher porosity, electrolyte uptake, and ionic conductivity compared to a commercial PP separator, leading to improved discharge capacity and energy density of the battery cells.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Optics
Milad Khodabakhshi, John Z. Wen, Zhongchao Tan
Summary: This study investigates the size-dependent coefficient of restitution (CoR) of sub-10 nm nanoparticles on varying sticky surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that the collision regime changes from quasi-elastic or viscoelastic to plastic deformation as the particle impact velocity increases. For sticky collisions, smaller nanoparticles exhibit fluctuating CoR values, while larger nanoparticles follow a similar trend as purely repulsive collisions but with smaller CoR values.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL D
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Yu Gao, Xiaoxiao Yang, Zhongchao Tan, Xingyuan Yang, Yanguo Zhang, Hui Zhou, Qinghai Li
Summary: This study evaluates the applicability of monocrystalline silicon, multicrystalline silicon, GaAs, and perovskite solar cells in beam-splitting hybrid systems by analyzing their photovoltaic properties. The results show that silicon solar cells are ineffective for beam-splitting hybrid utilization, while GaAs solar cells can benefit from beam splitting to improve power conversion efficiency. Perovskite solar cells exhibit great potential for hybrid utilization.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GREEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yi Zhang, Yunqiao Huang, Yifu Li, Hesheng Yu, Zhongchao Tan
Summary: This paper presents an integrated thermodynamic model for various parallel structures with simple geometries, and analyzes the forming conditions of energy barriers using experimental data and existing theoretical works. It also explores the effects of different geometric shapes on wetting behaviors.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mengdie Wang, Qianqian Nie, Guangyuan Xie, Zhongchao Tan, Hesheng Yu
Summary: This paper introduces and compares mathematical models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for oxygen degassing from water in a laboratory-scale multi-function gas-liquid contactor under various operating conditions. The mathematical models determine the optimum correlations of the overall volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient (k(L)a) for specific contactors. Both the continuous-reactor model and semi-batch model can evaluate degassing efficiency within a relative error of +/- 13%. Similarly, CFD models agree with experimental data within a relative error of +/- 10% or less.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Fangyan Sun, Hrilina Ghosh, Jun Wang, Zhongchao Tan, Siva Sivoththaman
Summary: This study presents the synthesis and characterization of uniform rGO films with a thickness of about 20 nm. The films exhibit high transparency (> 90%) and significant tunability of work function, highlighting their potential for electrodes with carrier-selectivity.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiayou Liu, Xiaoxiang Huang, Linfeng Liu, Qianqian Nie, Zhongchao Tan, Hesheng Yu
Summary: This paper reports the mechanism behind NO removal using UiO-66-NH2, which includes photocatalytic oxidation and subsequent adsorption. The NO reaction pathway and degradation mechanisms are proposed based on experimental results and theoretical calculations. It is found that UiO-66-NH2 has high NO removal efficiency and performs better in an anhydrous environment.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
