Well-dispersed sulfur anchored on interconnected polypyrrole nanofiber network as high performance cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries

Abstract Preparation of novel sulfur/polypyrrole (S/PPy) composite consisting well-dispersed sulfur particles anchored on interconnected PPy nanowire network was demonstrated. In such hybrid structure, the as-prepared PPy clearly displays a three-dimensionally cross-linked and hierarchical porous structure, which was utilized in the composite cathode as a conductive network trapping soluble polysulfide intermediates and enhancing the overall electrochemical performance of the system. Benefiting from this unique structure, the S/PPy composite demonstrated excellent cycling stability, resulting in a discharge capacity of 931 mAh g−1 at the second cycle and retained about 54% of this value over 100 cycles at 0.1 C. Furthermore, the S/PPy composite cathode exhibits a good rate capability with a discharge capacity of 584 mAh g−1 at 1  C

Corn stalk-derived activated carbon with a stacking sheet-like structure as sulfur cathode supporter for lithium/sulfur batteries

A novel stacking sheet-like carbon (SSC) has been synthesized by carbonizing the corn stalks and composited with sulfur to prepare a cathode for lithium/sulfur batteries. Scanning electronic microscopy observations showed the formation of irregularly interlaced nanosheet-like structure consisting SSC with uniform sulfur coating on its surface. The SSC nanoflakes in the composite act as nanocurrent collectors, favoring the charge carrier ion transport and electrolyte diffusion. The interlaced SSC nanoflakes irregularly stack together and form a three-dimensional network, which is beneficial for both trapping soluble polysulfide intermediates and rendering the electrical conductivity of the composite electrode..

Synthesis of hierarchical MoS2 microspheres composed of nanosheets assembled via facile hydrothermal method as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

A hierarchical MoS2 architecture composed of nanosheet-assembled microspheres with an expanded interplanar spacing of the (002) planes was successfully prepared via a simple hydrothermal reaction. Electron microscopy studies revealed formation of the MoS2 microspheres with an average diameter of 230 nm. It was shown that the hierarchical structure of MoS2 microspheres possesses both the merits of nanometer-sized building blocks and micrometer-sized assemblies, which offer high surface area for fast kinetics and buffers the volume expansion during lithium insertion/deinsertion, respectively. The micrometer-sized assemblies were found to contribute to the enhanced electrochemical stabilities of the electrode materials...

Micro-Spherical Sulfur/Graphene Oxide Composite via Spray Drying for High Performance Lithium Sulfur Batteries

An efficient, industry-accepted spray drying method was used to synthesize microspherical sulfur/graphene oxide (S/GO) composites as cathode materials within lithium sulfur batteries. The as-designed wrapping of the sulfur-nanoparticles, with wrinkled GO composites, was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The unique morphological design of this material enabled superior discharge capacity and cycling performance, demonstrating a high initial discharge capacity of 1400 mAh g1 at 0.1 C. The discharge capacity remained at 828 mAh g1 after 150 cycles. The superior electrochemical performance indicates that the S/GO composite improves electrical conductivity and alleviates the shuttle effect. This study represents the first time such a facile spray drying method has been adopted for lithium sulfur batteries and used in the fabrication of S/GO composite

Simple One-Pot Synthesis of Hexagonal ZnO Nanoplates as Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Hexagonal ZnO nanoplates were synthesized via simple one-pot hydrothermal reaction of Zn(CH3COO)2 and CO(NH2)2. XRD, SEM, and HRTEM were used to investigate the composition and microstructure of the material. Together with the facile strain relaxation during structure and volume change upon cycling, this plate-like structure of ZnO is favorable for physical and chemical interactions with lithium ions because of its large contact area with the electrolyte, providing more active sites and short diffusion distances. The resulting hexagonal ZnO nanoplates electrode exhibited good cyclability and delivered a reversible discharge capacity of 368 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 C

ZnO Nanorods Grown Directly on Copper Foil Substrate as a Binder-Free Anode for High Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

ZnO nanorods directly grown on copper foil substrate were obtained via hydrothermal method without using templates. Structure and morphology of the as-prepared ZnO nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The ZnO nanorods on copper foil (ZnO@CF) exhibited remarkably enhanced performance as anode for lithium batteries with the initial discharge capacity of 1236 mAh g-1 and a capacity of 402 mAh g-1 retained over 100 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g-1. The ZnO@CF anode demonstrated an excellent rate capability, delivering a reversible capacity of 390 mAh g-1 at 1500 mA g-1. This superior performance of the ZnO@CF anode is believed to be due to the unique structure of this binder-free anode, favoring mass and charge transfer at its interface with the electrolyte, effectively reducing the Li-ions diffusion paths and providing conditions to accommodate the anode volume variations upon charge-discharge cycling

A free-standing sulfur/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube electrode for high- performance lithium/sulfur batteries

A free-standing sulfur/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (S/N-CNT) composite prepared via a simple solution method was first studied as a cathode material for lithium/sulfur batteries. By taking advantage of the self-weaving behavior of N-CNT, binders and current collectors are rendered unnecessary in the cathode, thereby simplifying its manufacturing and increasing the sulfur weight ratio in the electrode. Transmission electronic microscopy showed the formation of a highly developed core-shell tubular structure consisting of S/N-CNT composite with uniform sulfur coating on the surface of N-CNT. As a core in the composite, the N-CNT with N functionalization provides a highly conductive and mechanically flexible framework, enhancing the electronic conductivity and consequently the rate capability of the material

Tracking Seasonal and Interannual Variability in Photosynthetic Downregulation in Response to Water Stress at a Temperate Deciduous Forest

The understanding and modeling of photosynthetic dynamics affected by climate variability can be highly uncertain. In this paper, we examined a well‐characterized eddy covariance site in a drought‐prone temperate deciduous broadleaf forest combining tower measurements and satellite observations. We find that an increase in spring temperature usually leads to enhanced spring gross primary production (GPP), but a GPP reduction in late growing season due to water limitation. We evaluated how well a coupled fluorescence‐photosynthesis model (SCOPE) and satellite data sets track the interannual and seasonal variations of tower GPP from 2007 to 2016. In SCOPE, a simple stress factor scaling of Vcmax as a linear function of observed predawn leaf water potential (ψ_(pd)) shows a good agreement between modeled and measured interannual variations in both GPP and solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment‐2 (GOME‐2). The modeled and satellite‐observed changes in SIF_(yield) are ~30% smaller than corresponding changes in light use efficiency (LUE) under severe stress, for which a common linear SIF to GPP scaling would underestimate the stress reduction in GPP. Overall, GOME‐2 SIF tracks interannual tower GPP variations better than satellite vegetations indices (VIs) representing canopy “greenness.” However, it is still challenging to attribute observed SIF variations unequivocally to greenness or physiological changes due to large GOME‐2 footprint. Higher‐resolution SIF data sets (e.g., TROPOMI) already show the potential to well capture the downregulation of late‐season GPP and could pave the way to better disentangle canopy structural and physiological changes in the future

Facile Synthesis of SiO2@C Nanoparticles Anchored on MWNT as High-Performance Anode Materials for Li-ion Batteries

Carbon-coated silica nanoparticles anchored on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SiO2@C/MWNT composite) were synthesized via a simple and facile sol-gel method followed by heat treatment. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) studies confirmed densely anchoring the carbon-coated SiO2 nanoparticles onto a flexible MWNT conductive network, which facilitated fast electron and lithium-ion transport and improved structural stability of the composite. As prepared, ternary composite anode showed superior cyclability and rate capability compared to a carbon-coated silica counterpart without MWNT (SiO2@C). The SiO2@C/MWNT composite exhibited a high reversible discharge capacity of 744 mAh g−1 at the second discharge cycle conducted at a current density of 100 mA g−1 as well as an excellent rate capability, delivering a capacity of 475 mAh g−1 even at 1000 mA g−1. This enhanced electrochemical performance of SiO2@C/MWNT ternary composite anode was associated with its unique core-shell and networking structure and a strong mutual synergistic effect among the individual components