Article
Energy & Fuels
Chongjun Zhao, Nan Sun, Mingkun Li, Wenlei Cai, Wenbin Jiang, Chunhua Zhao
Summary: Direct construction of a support-free carbon electrode, composed of 100% activated materials, was achieved using electrospinning and carbonization. The electrode exhibited improved flexibility due to the introduction of ductile Sn during the electrospinning process. The resulting carbon electrode consisted of one-dimensional nanosized carbon fibers (366 nm) and had a specific surface area of 1423.96 m2 g-1 after chemical activation. The electrode demonstrated excellent electrochemical supercapacitor performance both as a single electrode (specific capacitance of 342.05 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1) and in a symmetrical supercapacitor configuration (energy density of 15.26 Wh kg-1 at 187.5 W kg-1 power density).
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Jincy Parayangattil Jyothibasu, Ruei-Hong Wang, Kenneth Ong, Juping Hillary Lin Ong, Rong-Ho Lee
Summary: This paper presents a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing cellulose/functionalized carbon nanotube/Fe2O3 composite films and examines their performance in supercapacitors. The negative electrode prepared using this method exhibits outstanding capacitance values, advancing the development of sustainable supercapacitors.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin Mapleback, Vu Dao, Lachlan Webb, Andrew Rider
Summary: Composite structural supercapacitors (SSC) were manufactured using aerospace-grade composite materials and CNT mat electrodes. A new design methodology was explored where the supercapacitor electrolyte was localized within the composite structure, achieving good electrochemical performance within the active region, whilst maintaining excellent mechanical performance elsewhere. The morphology of these localized SSC designs was characterized and found to be directly correlated with both electrochemical and mechanical performance. One configuration using an ionogel with an ionic liquid electrolyte achieved high energy density and corresponding short beam shear strength, while another configuration with only an ionic liquid electrolyte also achieved high energy density and shear strength. Both configurations provide a combined energy and strength superior to previous results in the literature for composite SSCs.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rethinam Senthil, Vijayan Sumathi, Alagumuthu Tamilselvi, Serdar Batikan Kavukcu, A. Wilson Aruni
Summary: In recent years, there has been much interest in introducing electrospun airfilters to enhance the removal of PM2.5 and PM10-2.5. In this study, a novel poly-(vinyl) alcohol (PVA)/carbon nanoparticle (CNP)/tea leaf extract (TLE) functionalized nanofibrous air filter (FNA) was fabricated using an electrospinning method. The FNA showed excellent low pressure drop and high removal efficiency for PM2.5 and PM10-2.5.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Lantao Liu, Baopan Du, Ran Liu, Xiaohong Chen, Huaihe Song
Summary: In this study, Znchitosan aerogels were successfully synthesized and further carbonized to obtain NHPC aerogels. Zn ions acted as activators and soft templates to fabricate hierarchical porous structures in a carbon matrix. The structure and morphology of NHPC could be controlled by adjusting the ratio of zinc-chitosan complexes. The optimal NHPC showed excellent capacity and cycle stability in three-electrode systems, and high energy density and power density in two-electrode systems.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tong Xia, Depeng Zhao, Qing Xia, Ahmad Umar, Xiang Wu
Summary: Hybrid structured NiCo2S4@PPy nanoarchitectures were prepared in this study, showing excellent electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yingqi Heng, Genhui Teng, Yang Chi, Dongying Hu
Summary: This study successfully developed biomass-based supercapacitor electrodes and gel electrolyte exhibiting excellent specific capacitance, Coulombic efficiency, cycle stability, and energy density. The competitive electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor is attributed to the conductive network of biomass-derived electrodes, ion migration, and interfacial synergy.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jingui Ai, Shuhua Yang, Yana Sun, Mei Liu, Le Zhang, Degang Zhao, Jieqiang Wang, Chao Yang, Xiutong Wang, Bingqiang Cao
Summary: Hierarchical porous carbon derived from corncob cellulose has been successfully fabricated, showing excellent specific surface area and pore size distribution. It exhibits high specific capacitance and outstanding rate capability, as well as good cycling stability after 20,000 cycles.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jing Xu, Anna Schulte, Holger Schoenherr, Xin Jiang, Nianjun Yang
Summary: A novel method for designing and synthesizing active materials for capacitor electrodes is introduced, leading to high-performance supercapacitors with high specific capacitance, cycling stability, energy density, and power density. The fabricated capacitor electrode exhibits excellent performance even after 10,000 charging/discharging cycles, providing a potential approach for producing binder-/current-collector-free capacitor electrodes.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Lvye Yang, Jingqiu Li, Yichen Zhou, Jianfeng Yao
Summary: Aqueous zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSs) are promising energy storage devices with high energy/power density, stability, and safety. The key to improving their performance lies in designing a carbon cathode. By using a cotton pulp paper and ZnCl2, a porous cellulose-derived carbon (CDC) with abundant pore structures is prepared, resulting in a high capacitance in ZHSs. Furthermore, a solid-state ZHS is assembled by incorporating ZnCl2 into a cellulose hydrogel, exhibiting high capacity, energy density, and excellent stability.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guoqiang Song, Claudia Li, Tian Wang, Kang Hui Lim, Feiyang Hu, Shuwen Cheng, Emmerson Hondo, Shaomin Liu, Sibudjing Kawi
Summary: A novel carbon-based material called CNTs@HPC, consisting of multi-wall carbon nanotubes encapsulated within hollow porous carbon particles, has been successfully synthesized for supercapacitor applications. The material exhibits a distinctive hierarchical porous structure with macropores, mesopores, and micropores, resulting in a high specific surface area of 913 m2 g-1. The optimized CNTs@HPC demonstrates a specific capacitance of 306 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and displays additional pseudocapacitance characteristics, surpassing conventional electric double-layer capacitors.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhe Zhang, Lei Feng, Panpan Jing, Xiaojiang Hou, Guoquan Suo, Xiaohui Ye, Li Zhang, Yanling Yang, Chenxi Zhai
Summary: This study utilized straight carbon nanotubes as nanoscale conductive skeletons on carbon fibers to support PANI/SnS2. The nanoflower-like features of SnS2 significantly increased specific capacitance and specific surface area, with PANI nanolayers on SnS2 petals enhancing secondary specific capacitance and inhibiting volume expansion of SnS2. The resulting hybrids exhibited high specific capacitance, high surface area, and excellent cycling stability.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jing Li, Yin Liu, Dan Zhan, Yongjin Zou, Fen Xu, Lixian Sun, Cuili Xiang, Jian Zhang
Summary: Transition metal oxides, such as NiCo2O4 embedded N-doped carbon (NC) composite, have been synthesized for energy storage applications, exhibiting high specific capacitance and specific energy. The superior electrochemical performance of the NiCo2O4@NC electrode is attributed to the microenvironment provided by NC for Faradic reaction of NiCo2O4, and the ultrahigh specific capacitance conferred by NiCo2O4 to the composite.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Min Yuan, Feng Luo, Yifan Rao, Jiabing Yu, Zeping Wang, Hui Li, Xianping Chen
Summary: Hybrid nanocomposites of metal oxide nanoparticles and 3D graphene, particularly in the form of flexible micro-supercapacitors, show superior performance due to the synergistic effect between conductive SWCNT-bridged LIGF network and high theoretical capacitance of MnO2 nanoparticles. These hybrid electrodes offer a facile and novel method to develop flexible energy storage devices with high performance, indicating great potential for various wearable electronics applications in the future.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wenhao Peng, Zilong Su, Kaixuan Chen, Jiajun Wang, Bowen Chen, Shixin Jiang, Jinyang Yan, Shiping Luo, Aijuan Xie
Summary: Supercapacitors have emerged as a promising energy storage device due to their unique advantages, and the choice of suitable electrode materials plays a crucial role in improving their performance. In this study, a series of CuFexMn2-xO4-MWCNT-y spinel composites were successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method. The CuFe0.4Mn1.6O4-MWCNT-3 modified electrode demonstrated the highest specific capacitance of 656.7 F.g(-1) at a current density of 1.0 A.g(-1), with good cycling stability of 80.6% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at a current density of 8.0 A.g(-1). Moreover, the CuFe0.4Mn1.6O4-MWCNT-3//activated carbon (AC) asymmetric supercapacitor exhibited a higher capacitance of 104.0 F.g(-1) at 1.0 A.g(-1), with a maximum energy density of 30.43 Wh.kg(-1) and power density of 3500 W.kg(-1). These results suggest that the CuFe0.4Mn1.6O4-MWCNT-3 composite holds great potential for energy storage applications.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
Nauman Mubarak, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: The newly developed versatile liquefied gaseous electrolyte exhibits features such as high safety, temperature resilience, high recyclability, and promising electrochemical properties.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Heng Zhang, Haomin Chen, Jeng-Hun Lee, Eunyoung Kim, Kit-Ying Chan, Harun Venkatesan, Miracle Hope Adegun, Okikiola Ganiu Agbabiaka, Xi Shen, Qingbin Zheng, Jinglei Yang, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: This study presents the design of a chromotropic ionic skin that can detect and decouple multiple external stimuli, including strain, temperature, and pressure. The ionic skin shows highly sensitive responses to selective stimuli while remaining insensitive to unwanted ones.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Xi Shen, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: This review summarizes the recent progress in developing porous composites and structures for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding using graphene and MXene nanosheets. The relationships between material properties, microstructures, and EMI shielding performance are explored, and different technological approaches to constructing porous structures are compared. The review also highlights the multifunctional applications of porous composites and their unique compositions and microstructures.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kit-Ying Chan, Xi Shen, Jie Yang, Keng-Te Lin, Harun Venkatesan, Eunyoung Kim, Heng Zhang, Jeng-Hun Lee, Jinhong Yu, Jinglei Yang, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: Cooling in buildings is crucial for human well-being, but it consumes significant energy. Thermally superinsulating aerogels are promising for energy-efficient cooling, but they tend to absorb sunlight and scaling up their production is challenging. In this study, the authors develop a thermally insulating and solar-reflective anisotropic cooling aerogel panel using a freeze-casting technique, which shows excellent performance in minimizing heat gains and achieving lower interior temperatures.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Linghan Kong, Rasha Alqus, Chin W. Yong, Ilian Todorov, Stephen J. Eichhorn, Richard A. Bryce
Summary: The interaction between graphene and cellulose has potential in designing new graphene-carbohydrate biopolymer materials. The hydrophilicity of cellulose and the interactions between cellulose chains and graphene play important roles in the adsorption and structural accommodation process.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR GRAPHICS & MODELLING
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sheron Tavares, Kesong Yang, Marc A. Meyers
Summary: Heusler alloys have emerged as exciting materials for various functional applications due to their ordered structure and unique properties. This review article discusses the discovery, magnetic and electronic properties, mechanical properties, and computational design of Heusler alloys. It also explores the challenges and future directions in this field.
PROGRESS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Heng Zhang, Haomin Chen, Jeng-Hun Lee, Eunyoung Kim, Kit-Ying Chan, Harun Venkatesan, Xi Shen, Jinglei Yang, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: This research aims to design a flexible optical/electrical skin capable of responding to complex stimuli with interactive feedback of human-readable structural colors. The OE-skin consists of various layers including an ionic electrode, elastomer dielectric layer, chromotropic layer, and a conductive carbon nanotube/MXene layer. It delivers an ultrafast, accurate response for capacitive pressure sensing and visualizes complex deformations in high-resolution spatial colors.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qun Liu, Zhenlu Yu, Qiuna Zhuang, Jang-Kyo Kim, Feiyu Kang, Biao Zhang
Summary: Hydrogel electrolytes have been widely studied in Zn metal batteries for wearable electronics, but the mechanical stability of the hydrogel under repeated deformation has been overlooked, resulting in unsatisfactory performance. This study explores the compressive fatigue-resistance properties of the hydrogel electrolyte and identifies the critical roles of the salt and copolymer matrix in crack initiation and propagation. An optimal Zn(ClO4)(2)-polyacrylamide/chitosan hydrogel electrolyte (C-PAMCS) is found to exhibit an unprecedented lifespan and high areal capacity for Zn//Zn cells, enabling potential applications in flexible Zn-ion batteries.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
I. Isil Gurten Inal, Filiz Koyuncu, Maria Perez-Page
Summary: High-rate-capability supercapacitor electrodes were developed using a green and sustainable graphene oxide-assisted microporous activated carbon (AC). The ACs were produced from tea factory waste using different amounts of potassium carbonate (K2CO3), while the non-porous GO sheets were prepared by electrochemical exfoliation. The best electrode performance was achieved by the AC sample prepared with a mass ratio of (1.0:1.5) of tea factory waste: K2CO3. Mixing this AC with GO improved the rate capability significantly, with AC-IR1.5: GO (75:25) exhibiting a capacitance retention twice as high as AC-based electrodes at a high current density of 10 A g(- 1).
JOURNAL OF POROUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jie Yang, Xi Shen, Wei Yang, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: This review summarizes recent advances in the development of thermally conductive polymer composites using various templating methods, including self-templating, sacrificial templating, foam-templating, ice-templating, and template-directed chemical vapor deposition techniques. These unique methods allow for the fabrication of three-dimensional interconnected fillers with segregated, cellular, lamellar, and radially aligned structures, which are correlated to the thermal conductivity of the composites. Moreover, the review highlights the use of multiscale structural design strategies combined with different templating methods to further improve the thermal conductivity of the composites.
PROGRESS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yang Li, Liangyu Li, Yunhe Zhao, Canbin Deng, Zhibin Yi, Diwen Xiao, Nauman Mubarak, Mengyang Xu, Jie Li, Guangfu Luo, Qing Chen, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: A hierarchical nanoporous electrode is developed by alloying Cu foam with Zn to homogenize the deposition and create nanoscale pores. This electrode shows uniform Zn deposition and stable performance in a Zn-I-2 flow battery, meeting practical demands.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Elliot Craddock, Rosa M. Cuellar-Franca, Maria Perez-Page
Summary: This review examines the environmental impacts of recent redox flow batteries (RFBs) manufacturing, particularly focusing on global warming potential (GWP), in order to identify major contributors and opportunities for improving their environmental sustainability from a low-carbon perspective. Emphasis is placed on vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) as they have been the most successful redox chemistry thus far. The findings suggest that the extraction and processing of vanadium (used in electrolyte production) is the main contributor to GWP, underscoring the importance of reducing vanadium crossover using highly selective membranes. This review also discusses the incorporation of different types of 2D materials into membranes in VRFBs to assess reductions in vanadium crossover.
CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mengyang Xu, Zhenjing Liu, Yang Li, Nauman Mubarak, Hoilun Wong, Mohsen Tamtaji, Yunhe Zhao, Yuyin Li, Jun Wang, Jiawen You, Hongwei Liu, Yuting Cai, Kenan Zhang, Feng Xu, Khalil Amine, Jang-Kyo Kim, Zhengtang Luo
Summary: This study presents the synthesis of tin selenide nanoparticles grown on highly conductive, porous 3D graphene foam as a stable host for sodium metal anodes and reveals their energy storage mechanism through conversion reactions. The SnSe@GF electrode exhibits remarkable reversibility after 1500 cycles in asymmetric cells and extraordinary cyclic stability and low overpotentials for 2000 h in symmetric cells. The outstanding performance is attributed to the conversion of crystalline SnSe into low-crystallinity Na15Sn4 and Na2Se dual nucleation sites after pre-sodiation, which enables the formation of a unique interface with high sodium affinity and abundant active sites, resulting in uniform sodium nucleation/plating and dendrite suppression.
ENERGY STORAGE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
S. J. Eichhorn, M. Ichwan, A. J. Onyianta, R. S. Trask, A. Etale
Summary: The effect of different alkaline treatments on alpha-cellulose extraction from oil palm empty fruit bunches and subsequent cellulose nanocrystal properties are studied. Sodium hydroxide changes the native cellulose from type I to II, while potassium hydroxide maintains cellulose I. Compared to commercial cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) CNCs type I have higher aspect ratios and crystallinity index, but lower charge and thermal stability. OPEFB CNCs type II have a higher aspect ratio, but lower charge. Type I CNCs have intermediate charge and higher thermal stability, making them more suitable for processing with thermoplastic polymers. A comparison of physical properties between oil palm based CNCs, commercial, and lab-based materials is presented to explore their potential in composite applications. It is shown that using these CNCs can enhance the mode-II interlaminar fracture toughness of a carbon fibre-epoxy laminate with aligned electrospun cellulose acetate butyrate nanofibrous networks.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMER TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Eunyoung Kim, Kit-Ying Chan, Jie Yang, Harun Venkatesan, Miracle Hope Adegun, Heng Zhang, Jeng-Hun Lee, Xi Shen, Jang-Kyo Kim
Summary: In this study, the microstructure and thermal conductivity of waterborne polyurethane (WPU) aerogels were tailored through unidirectional freeze-casting at different freezing temperatures. The addition of two-dimensional boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) further intensified the anisotropy of WPU aerogels. The resulting composite aerogel exhibited low density and low thermal conductivity, making it suitable for efficient thermal insulation applications and offering better thermal management under direct sunlight.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
