Carbon-assisted energy storage in Li-ion batteries is a crucial topic in the era of carbon neutrality. This work reports a remarkable synergistic effect between lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄, LFP) nanoparticles and mesoporous carbon (MC) that greatly improves the rate performance and cycle performance. The rapid capacitive effect of MC helps establish a local Li⁺-rich environment for LFP, enhancing the Li intercalation kinetics inside LFP nanoparticles during discharge. This synergistic effect is quantificationally evaluated using a single-particle model to compare the Li intercalation extent of LFP particles under the presence and absence of MC, which is further confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observation, in-situ X-ray diffraction characterization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test. In addition, the LFP/MC composite cathode exhibits a nearly 100% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles under 1C charge and 10C discharge. Overall, the addition of MC proves to be a very simple but robust method to increase the capacity, power density and cycle life of LFP-based devices.

In recent decades, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have emerged as a primary focus in the energy-storage field owing to their superior energy and power densities. However, concerns regarding the depletion of non-abundant lithium resources have prompted the exploration and development of emerging energy-storage technologies, such as sodium- (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). In addition, all-solid-state LIBs (ASSLIBs) have been developed to address the issues of flammability and explosiveness associated with liquid electrolytes. Among the various alloy-based anodes, antimony (Sb) anodes exhibit high energy densities owing to their high theoretical volumetric capacities that are attributable to their high densities. However, Sb anodes exhibit poor cyclabilities owing to excessive volume changes during cycling. To mitigate this issue, researchers have investigated the use of diverse solutions, including solid electrolyte interface control, structural control, and composite/alloy formation. Herein, we review and summarize Sb-based anode materials for LIBs, SIBs, PIBs, and ASSLIBs developed over the past five years (2018-present), focusing on their reaction mechanisms and multiple approaches used to achieve optimal electrochemical performance. We anticipate that this review will provide a comprehensive database of Sb-based anodes for LIBs, SIBs, PIBs, and ASSLIBs, thereby advancing relevant studies in the energy-storage-systems field.

Recovery of silicon from end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) modules, purification, conversion to nano silicon (nano-Si), and subsequent application as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is challenging but can significantly influence the circular economy. Currently, a complete technology consisting of cross-contamination-free recovery of silicon wafers from end-of-life PV modules, a low-cost environmentally friendly purification process of the recovered PV silicon, a high yield conversion process of the recovered PV silicon into nano-Si, and its subsequent application in lithium-ion batteries is unavailable. This study provides a complete package including cross-contamination-free recovery, economical purification, reliable conversion to nano-Si, and efficient application of the end-of-life PV nano-Si in lithium-ion batteries. Hydrofluoric acid-free recovery and purification processes are demonstrated which can deliver large quantities of high-purity (≥ 99) silicon. In addition, the subsequent ball milling process produces very distinct nano-Si with different shapes and sizes. This study also creates a very effective nano-Si anode through in-situ crosslinking of water-soluble carboxymethyl cellulose and poly (acrylic acid) precursors. The integration of distinct PV nano-Si and water-soluble carboxymethyl cellulose-poly (acrylic acid) crosslink binder opens distinct possibilities to develop silicon-based practical anode for next generation low-cost lithium-ion batteries to power cell phones to electric vehicles.

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) represent a promising battery technology for energy storage applications. Nevertheless, the progress of PIBs is still hindered by the lack of electrode materials that allow rapid and repeatable accommodation of the large K⁺ ions. Herein, a composite anode material containing interlayered-expanded MoS₂ (55.6% larger) nanoroses in carbon nanonets (MoS₂/C@CNs) is designed with the assistance of biomass bagasse, of which the dual carbon sources convert into interlayer and skeleton carbon, respectively. The unique structure facilitates electron/ion transport in the entire electrode and offers excellent structural stability, leading to much improved electrochemical performance compared to simple MoS₂/C composite and pure MoS₂. Furthermore, the role of electrolyte salts (potassium hexafluorophosphate and potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide) and the electrolyte concentration on the interfacial properties in PIBs have been explored. The results indicate that the low-concentration potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide electrolyte helps to produce optimized organic-inorganic solid electrolyte interface films, contributing to a capacity retention of 90% after 1,000 cycles at 2 A g^-1.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are close to commercialization. Although alloying anodes have potential use in next-generation SIB anodes, their limitations of low capacities and colossal volume expansions must be resolved. Traditional approaches involving structural and compositional tunings have not been able to break these lofty barriers. This review is devoted to recent progress in research on alloy-based SIB anodes comprising Sn, Sb, P, Ge, and Si. The current level of understanding, challenges, modifications, optimizations employed up to date, and shortfalls faced by alloying anodes are also described. A detailed future outlook is proposed, focusing on advanced nanomaterial tailoring methods and component modifications in SIB fabrication. Utilizing the latest state-of-the-art characterization techniques, including ex-situ and operando characterization tools, can help us better understand the (de)sodiation mechanism and accompanying capacity fading pathways to pave the way for next-generation SIBs with alloying anode materials.

The widespread use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in recent years has led to a marked increase in the quantity of spent batteries, resulting in critical global technical challenges in terms of resource scarcity and environmental impact. Therefore, efficient and eco-friendly recycling methods for these batteries are needed. The recycling methods for spent LIBs include hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, solid-phase regeneration, and electrochemical methods. Compared to other recycling methods, electrochemical methods offer high ion selectivity and environmental friendliness. Assembling research on the recycling and reutilization of spent LIBs, with a focus on the various electrochemical techniques that can enhance these processes, is essential. A thorough analysis of the characteristics and evolution of these methods remains crucial to advancing the field of electrochemical technology in battery recycling. This review first discussed the necessity of recycling spent LIBs from multiple perspectives and briefly introduced the main pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling technologies, analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, we comprehensively summarized the current applications of electrochemical technology in the recycling of spent LIBs, including pretreatment, leaching, element separation, and regeneration. Then, we analyzed the characteristics and advantages of different electrochemical techniques in the LIB recycling process and discussed the obstacles encountered in the application of electrochemical technology and their solutions. Finally, a comparison between electrochemical technology and traditional recycling processes was provided, highlighting the potential advantages of electrochemical technology in reducing recycling costs and minimizing waste emissions.

In the field of energy storage technology, the organic electrodes, separators, and electrolytes have unique advantages over inorganic materials, such as low cost, environmental friendliness, and a wide range of applications. Due to the advantages of organics such as light elements, abundant reserves, and recyclability, they have become favorable candidate materials for solving the energy storage problems caused by the fossil energy crisis. In recent years, as a high-performance branch of covalent organic frameworks, covalent triazine structures (CTFs) have attracted great interest due to their applications in electrochemical energy storage. CTFs have gradually become excellent organic materials for metal-ion batteries applications due to their large specific surface area, nitrogen richness, customizable structural features, and electron donor-acceptor/conductive parts. However, the relatively poor conductivity of the triazine ring in the main structure and the harsh polycondensation conditions limit its commercial application. To overcome these challenges, many effective strategies have emerged in terms of structural optimization, functional construction, and triazine-based composites. This review summarizes in detail the synthesis methods and applications of CTFs cathodes, electrolytes, and separators in the past decade. It is found that for CTFs, large-scale synthesis methods and performance regulation strategies have reached a bottleneck. It is hoped that the systematic summary of this review will provide strategic screening and prospects for the further expansion of CTFs research in next-generation batteries.

The feature of high theoretical capacity, long thermal stability, and low-cost fabrication offers the layered transition metal oxide NaCrO₂ as an excellent candidate for sodium-ion batteries. Here, we show an effective method for electronic modulation of NaCrO₂ by partial substitution of Cr³⁺ with low-valent Ni²⁺ to produce NaCr_0.95Ni_0.05O₂ as an efficient cathode for these batteries. We found that Ni²⁺ substitution plays a critical role in the ionic character of transition metal-oxygen bonds, which increases the interlayer separation and thus improves sodium-ion diffusion kinetics. Furthermore, Ni²⁺ substitution reduces the deterioration of NaCrO₂ throughout charge-discharge processes and thus boosts the cycle performance of the materials. The resultant NaCr_0.95Ni_0.05O₂ cathode displays a remarkable rate performance with specific capacities of 91.2 mAh g^-1 at 50 C and a high retention (~80%) of the initial capacity after cycling for 1,000 cycles at 10 C.

Among the many approaches to improve the performance of lithium-metal batteries, ternary polyethylene oxide/ionic liquid/lithium salt electrolytes offer several advantages such as low flammability, high conductivity (vs. polyethylene oxide/lithium salt electrolytes) and, to a large extent, limiting the growth of dendrites at moderate currents. However, they suffer from relatively low mechanical strength for lithium metal confinement. Besides, the lithium transport numbers are very low, which is conducive to lithium depletion during plating at high current densities at the lithium/electrolyte interface. Thus, we show here that the combination of a ternary solid polymer electrolyte with a single-ion polymer-based conducting interlayer allows for a significant improvement of the cyclability of the lithium metal anode. This results in a strong improvement of the electrochemical performance of lithium-metal batteries using solid polymer electrolytes at 80 °C, with an 85% capacity retention after 350 cycles (vs. 60% after 62 cycles for the uncoated anode). This is attributed, via focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, to a denser lithium deposit, better contact with the electrolyte and a reduced reactivity of electrolyte species with the interlayer.

Catalytic combustion is an effective approach to remove air pollutants from various emission sources. For this purpose, supported noble metal catalysts are preferred in commercial applications due to their outstanding catalytic activity for eliminating CO, hydrocarbon compounds and NOx. In this paper, we employ the flame spray pyrolysis method to prepare a series of Pt-based catalysts with four different supports (TiO₂, ZrO₂, MgO and ZnO) and variable low Pt loadings for catalytic combustion of CO and CH₄. The performance of 0.5 Pt/TiO₂ is the best in all samples, in which the T₉₀ temperatures are 107 and 500 °C for 90% conversion of CO and CH₄, respectively. To examine its thermal stability, a time-on-stream test at 700 °C for 420 min is carried out, resulting in a decrease of about 5% in the final conversion of CH₄. The X-ray diffraction results show that TiO₂ support is a mixed phase with a major amount of anatase and a small amount of rutile other than a pure phase of ZrO₂, MgO and ZnO. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy observation show that when the Pt loading is low, the Pt species exist as highly dispersed single atoms on the surface of the TiO₂ support. As the Pt loading gradually increases, the state of the Pt species transitions from single atoms to Pt clusters, resulting in a decrease in dispersion. Ultimately, the Pt can successfully accumulate on the surface of the TiO₂ nanoparticles, providing abundant active sites for efficient catalytic combustion reactions.

Perovskite wafers, with superior optoelectronic properties and stability, show great promise for photovoltaic and photoelectric applications. However, traditional solution growth methods struggle with crystallization control and phase purity, while solid-phase synthesis methods encounter high-density grain boundary traps. To tackle these issues, we devised a scalable method combining physical thermal field and chemical bonding to fabricate inch-sized FAPbI₃ wafers, enabling efficient near-infrared photodetection. By integrating a 120 °C hot-pressing to stabilize the photoactive α phase and polyaniline polymer to conduct and passivate the grain boundaries, we obtained quasi-single crystal FAPbI₃ wafers on a large scale. This approach overcomes the critical challenges of phase impurities and high-density defects, enhancing the phase stability of the FAPbI₃ wafers. As a result, the FAPbI₃ wafer-based photodetector exhibits an impressive external quantum efficiency of 312% at 854 nm near-infrared wavelength at 5 V bias, accompanied by a detectivity (D*) of 4.69 × 10¹⁴ Jones and rapid response time in microsecond-scale. This performance surpasses conventional solution-grown single crystals, providing a scalable foundation for future integrated perovskite optoelectronic devices.

The rechargeable alkali metal-ion batteries (RAMIBs) are highly promising candidates for next-generation efficient energy storage devices, owing to their outstanding theoretical specific capacities and extremely low electrochemical potentials. However, RAMIBs possess unsuitable lifespans, low mechanical durability and inevitable side reactions attributable to their inherent severe volumetric/structure alteration during the charge-discharge cycles. These hitches could be solved using porous multimetallic alloy-based anodes, due to their impressive specific capacities, low working potential, low cost, and earth-abundance, which can meet sustainability and practical application needs. Meanwhile, great surface area, electrical conductivity, structural stability, and ability to accommodate the generated alkali metal ions can yield satisfactory coulomb efficiency and long durability. Immense efforts are dedicated to rationally designing porous multimetallic alloy-based anodes for RAMIBs, so it is essential to provide timely updates on this research area. Herein, we reviewed recent advances in porous multimetallic alloy-based anodes (i.e., Sn, Mn, Mo, Co, V, and Fe) for RAMIBs (i.e., lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and potassium-ion batteries. This is rooted in the engineering approaches (i.e., template-based, hydrothermal/solvothermal, chemical reduction, electrochemical deposition, sol-gel, and electrospinning) to fundamental insights (i.e., mechanisms, key parameters, and calculations) and precise evaluation for structural changes, and mechanisms by various experimental, theoretical, and in-situ analysis to optimizing their performance. Also, advances in RAMIBs recycling and circular economy were discussed. Eventually, we highlighted the current drawbacks and provided proposed perspectives to solve these issues and enable practical utilization of such anodes for large-scale applications.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs), the energy conversion and storage technologies that have been thoroughly investigated, are utilized in various areas. Most current commercial LMBs use liquid electrolytes, but their safety cannot be guaranteed. In contrast, all-solid-state LMBs with solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) are regarded as next-generation energy storage systems owing to their enhanced safety. In the examination of SSEs, the benefits of composite SSEs (CSSEs) are particularly prominent. CSSEs relying on multiphase composites have better flexibility to tailor electrolyte performance based on demand and, thus, the design of components. Based on existing research presentations, we herein review the development of CSSEs. Firstly, the essential components of CSSEs are introduced, focusing on explaining the transport channel of Li ions within the polymer matrix and the impact of various fillers on this channel. The key performance parameters of CSSEs are described in detail. Subsequently, the fillers in CSSEs are meticulously classified; the critical roles played by different fillers in the polymer matrix are clarified, and the hotspots of current research are summarized. Furthermore, the prevalent structural design methodologies in CSSEs are examined, and the impact of various structures on battery performance is elucidated. Finally, the current problems of CSSEs and the future development prospects are summarized. This review is significant because it provides ideas for the design of CSSEs and contributes to the development of all-solid-state LMBs to realize their wide application.