Rechargeable Dual-Carbon Batteries: A Sustainable Battery Technology

Abstract: Dual‐carbon batteries (DCBs) with both electrodes composed of carbon materials are currently at the forefront of industrial consideration. This is due to their low cost, safety, sustainability, fast charging, and simpler electrochemistry than lithium and other post‐lithium metal‐ion batteries. This article provides an overview of the past lessons on rechargeable DCBs and their future promises. In brief, it introduces the reader to DCBs as one of the most promising energy storage solutions for balancing sustainability, cost and performance, their history, electrochemistry and associated charge storage mechanisms. Then, the past lessons with respect to their ion intercalation are provided. These include DCB mechanisms during different anion/cation intercalation in layered carbons and their intercalation compounds and electrode structures versus electrochemical performance. This is followed by a description of the current issues affecting DCBs like capacity fading and self‐discharging, electrolyte instability, low energy densities and electrode exfoliation, together with their remedies. Finally, an insightful perspective proposing key areas requiring significant research efforts toward the success of DCBs is provided responsible for accelerating the commercialization and adoption of DCBs toward a sustainable and circular economy. This article is a simplified guide to understanding the current state and future research needed to develop sustainable DCBs

1-D polymer ternary composites: Understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors

A series of 1-D polymer ternary composites based on poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/few-layer graphene (FLG) conductive fibers (SCGFs) were prepared via wet-spinning. Employed as ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors, the ternary composite fiber materials’ interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism were systematically explored. The resultant SCGFs-based strain sensors simultaneously exhibited high sensitivity, superior stretchability (with a gauge factor of 5,467 under 600% deformation) and excellent durability under different test conditions due to excellent flexibility of SBS, the synergistic effect of hybrid conductive nanofibers and the strong π-π interaction. Besides, the conductive networks in SBS matrix were greatly affected by the mass ratio of CNTs and FLG, and thus the piezoresistive performances of the strain sensors could be controlled by changing the content of hybrid conductive fillers. Especially, the SCGFs with 0.30 wt.% CNTs (equal to their percolation threshold 0.30 wt.%) and 2.7 wt.% FLG demonstrated the highest sensitivity owing to the bridge effect of FLG between adjacent CNTs. Whereas, the SCGFs with 1.0 wt.% CNTs (higher than their percolation threshold) and 2.0 wt.% FLG showed the maximum strain detection range (600%) due to the welding connection caused by FLG between the contiguous CNTs. To evaluate the fabricated sensors, the tensile and the cyclic mechanical recovery properties of SCGFs were tested and analyzed. Additionally, a theoretical piezoresistive mechanism of the ternary composite fiber was investigated by the evolution of conductive networks according to tunneling theory

Laponite-based nanomaterials for biomedical applications: A review

Laponite based nanomaterials (LBNMs) are highly diverse regarding their mechanical, chemical, and structural properties, coupled with shape, size, mass, biodegradability and biocompatibility. These ubiquitous properties of LBNMs make them appropriate materials for extensive applications. These have enormous potential for effective and targeted drug delivery comprised of numerous biodegradable materials which results in enhanced bioavailability. Moreover, the clay material has been explored in tissue engineering and bioimaging for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. The material has been profoundly explored for minimized toxicity of nanomedicines. The present review compiled relevant and informative data to focus on the interactions of laponite nanoparticles and application in drug delivery, tissue engineering, imaging, cell adhesion and proliferation, and in biosensors. Eventually, concise conclusions are drawn concerning biomedical applications and identification of new promising research directions

Electrode, Electrolyte, and Membrane Materials for Electrochemical CO<inf>2</inf> Capture

Publication status: PublishedFunder: UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering InnovationAbstractOne of the many possible ways to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) is through electrochemical means. This is an emerging approach with various merits. It is energy efficient, utilizes renewable energy, operates under ambient conditions, provides ease for control of reaction rates, and is scalable. Additionally, it can be integrated as a plug‐and‐play module at various scales, including large industrial sources or at small scale, e.g., on vehicles, and can easily combine CO2 capture, storage, and utilization into value‐added chemicals. Various “proof‐of‐concept” electrochemical CO2 capture approaches have been demonstrated in the recent past. These are made possible with electro‐active materials that capture, separate, and concentrate CO2 in the form of electrodes, electrolytes, and membranes in devices. Herein, these materials and their working mechanisms are identified and reviewed in various electrochemical CO2 capture devices where they are utilized. Also, the current challenges and future research directions with the identified electrodes, electrolytes, and membranes are summarized to give a rational understanding and guidance for selecting and designing materials for use in electrochemical CO2 capture devices.</jats:p

Vanadium-Doped Monolayer MoS2with Tunable Optical Properties for Field-Effect Transistors

Substitutional doping is a promising methodology to tune the optoelectronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). However, to this date, direct substitution of transition metal atoms in monolayer regime has only been demonstrated with few metal atoms. Herein monolayer (ML) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) doped with different concentrations of vanadium(V) is successfully prepared by tuning the molar ratio of MoO3 and V2O5 powder in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Interestingly, photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the V-doped ML MoS2 with optimal ratio is four times larger than that of intrinsic MoS2. Further PL spectra fittings indicate that the exciton recombination in V-doped samples is dominant relative to the trion recombination due to the p-doping effect, which is further confirmed by the gate-dependent PL testing. It is also observed that the optical bandgap of MoS2 and the threshold voltage of as-fabricated field-effect transistors (FETs) can be tuned through controllable V doping. As a proof of concept, ML MoSe2 doped with V also exhibits enhanced PL intensity due to the p-doping effect. The successful preparation of Mo-based monolayer TMDs with controllable vanadium doping could be helpful for optical absorption-based optoelectronic applications

Preparation of silica/polymer nanocomposites with aggregation-induced emission properties as fluorescent responsive coatings

Fluorescent materials in the recent past have found numerous novel applications in various fields such as medicine, environment, electronics and coatings. For smart coating applications, durability, responsiveness and repeatable functionalities are desirable especially in their solid state. However, due to the known aggregation-caused quench (ACQ) effect, many traditional fluorescent molecules’ intensity tends to diminish at aggregated state. This ultimately affects the traditional fluorescent materials’ use in these applications. To develop smart coatings with suitable properties and responsiveness, herein, a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based composite fluorescent latex was prepared and systematically studied. Briefly, the approach involved first grafting tetraphenylethene (TPE) derivant onto the silica sol. The resultant modified silica sol could then emit strong fluorescent light courtesy of TPE’s restricted intramolecular rotation. Further, the modified silica sol was used as the surface to emulsion polymerize acrylic latex, forming a fluorescent composite core-shell structure. As a smart and responsive fluorescent composite coating, when cured, it showed fluorescent responsiveness to the external stimuli, such as water and toluene vapor, demonstrating possible application in smart paints

An attempt to adopt aggregation-induced emission to study organic-inorganic composite materials

Owing to the hybrid nature of organic–inorganic composite coatings, when applied, they can combine the merits of both components and thus make such coatings fit a wide range of applications. However, due to the property differences in these composites, the strategy to obtain well dispersed organic–inorganic coatings is not yet straightforward and it is of great importance for their implementation and to obtain advanced properties such as mechanical properties, corrosion-resistance, aging resistance performance, and others. In this regard, still, even the characterization and direct visualization of the making up the organic–inorganic composites are not easy tasks. Herein, a strategy to visual characterize organic–inorganic composite coatings via aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is reported. Briefly, the approach involved first designing and synthesizing a novel water dispersed AIEgen whose AIE effect was systematically analyzed. Then, inorganic Na+-montmorillonite (MMT) was introduced to the synthesized AIEgen via the ion exchange method in order to make the inorganic MMT adopt fluorescence properties. The modified MMT fluorescence property was beneficial for the imaging and characterization of the macro-dispersed MMT in the cured coatings. As an essential addition to the study, the responses of the modified MMT cured composite coatings to temperature and corrosive material erosion were studied in detail. An account of the responses demonstrated the possible application of such modified coatings in high-performance smart paints

Exploring the mechanism of self-stratifying coatings with aggregation-induced emission

Self-stratifying coatings are excellent replacements for traditional coatings, which need primers and sealers during their application on substrates. In this work, we introduced aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens (AIEgens) during the synthesis of self-stratifying coating to study and trace the mechanism and reactions between the individual components of the coating resin, its film-forming properties, and response to the environment in real time. The AIEgens introduced into the coating materials were a backbone to these studies. They can emit light (under excitation) with different properties depending on how their molecular rotors are restricted or free to move. More still, the reported fluorescent AIE-based self-stratifying coatings demonstrated reliable hydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties (contact angle above 130°), good thermal tolerance (above 350°), excellent toughness, chemical, and corrosion resistance. Such coatings can find use in various home and industrial applications