Multiple metallic dopants in nickel nanoparticles for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Developing efficient oxygen evolution reaction(OER) electrocatalysts is of great importance for sustainable energy conversion and storage. Ni-based catalysts have shown great potential as OER electrocatalysts, but their performance still needs to be improved. Herein, we report the multiple metal doped nickel nanoparticles synthesized via a simple oil phase strategy as efficient OER catalysts. The FeMnMoV–Ni exhibits superior OER performance with an overpotential of 220 mV at 10 mA cm^-2     

Magnetic field induced synthesis of (Ni,Zn)Fe2O4 spinel nanorod for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction

Recently, the introduction of external fields(light, thermal, magnetism, etc.) during electrocatalysis reactions gradually becomes a new strategy to modulate the catalytic activities. In this work, an external magnetic field was innovatively employed for the synthesis progress of(Ni, Zn)Fe₂O₄spinel oxide(M-(Ni, Zn)Fe₂O₄). Results indicated the magnetic field(≤250 m T) would affect the morphology of catalyst due to the existing Fe ions, inducing the M-(...     

FeCo-based mesoporous carbon shells modified N-doped porous carbon spheres for oxygen reduction reaction

FeCo-based non-noble metal electrocatalysts (NNMEs) of FeCo/MCS-NPCS was fabricated by immobilization of hemin on mesoporous carbon shells modified N-doped porous carbon spheres (MCS-NPCS). The obtained FeCo/MCS-NPCS exhibits a half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.851 ​V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (vs. RHE) and a limited-diffusion current density (J_L) of 5.45 ​mA ​cm⁻². In addition, FeCo/MCS-NPCS shows comparable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performances to 20 ​wt% Pt/C in terms of E_1/2 and J_L and better electrochemical properties, including the methanol tolerance and durability in alkaline solution. Such outstanding electrochemical activities of FeCo/MCS-NPCS can be ascribed to Fe and/or Co-based nitrides and carbides as well as N-doped carbon matrixes modified with mesoporous carbon shells. This research introduces a promising path to design and synthesize highly efficient FeCo–N–C electrocatalysts towards ORR.     

Rational design of MnS nanoparticles anchored on N,S-codoped carbon matrix as anode for lithium-ion batteries

The manganese sulfide (MnS) has attracted more attention as anode material on energy storage and conversion field, owing to its high theoretical capacity (616 ​mA ​h ​g⁻¹) and good electrochemical activity. However, low electronic conductivity and large volume expansion during charge-discharge processes have limited its further application. In order to address above mentioned problems, the composites, MnS nanoparticles embedded in N,S-codoped porous carbon skeleton (named as MnS/N,S–C composites), herein have been prepared successfully using metal organic framework (Mn-NTA) as template. The porous carbon skeleton not only can enhance electrode conductivity, but also relieve volume expansion during charge-discharge processes. Thus, the rational design towards electrode architectures has endowed MnS/N,S–C nanocomposites with superior electrochemical performance, which delivers the specific capacities of 676.7 ​mA ​h ​g⁻¹ at the current density of 100 ​mA ​g⁻¹.     

Nickel-introduced structurally ordered PtCuNi/C as high performance electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Designing highly active and durable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is essential for developing efficient proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, ordered PtCuNi/C nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using an impregnation reduction method. This study shows that the incorporation of Ni in ordered PtCu/C can effectively adjust the electronic structure of Pt, thereby optimizing oxygen binding energy for the ORR. The obtained intermetallic ordered PtCuNi/C NPs significantly improved ORR activity and durability compared to ordered PtCu/C. Specifically, PtCu_0·5Ni_0·5/C-700 shows a mass activity of 1.29 ​A ​mg _Pt⁻¹ ​at 0.9 ​V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which is about 9.2 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C. PtCu_0.5Ni_0.5/C-700 is also shown to be competent cathode catalyst for a single-cell system exhibiting high power density (461 ​mW ​cm⁻²). This work demonstrates that ordered PtCu_0·5Ni_0·5/C-700 can be used as a highly active and durable ORR catalyst in PEMFCs.     

Flexible free-standing polyaniline/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite electrode with good capacitance performance and shape memory behavior

The increasing demand for portable and flexible energy storage devices drives the development of flexible electrodes and electrolytes. The aim of this work is to fabricate the flexible free-standing polyaniline/poly(vinyl alcohol)(PANI/PVA) composite electrode with good capacitance performance and shape memory behavior. The electrodes were fabricated by chemical oxidation polymerization of aniline in porous PVA(P-PVA) films. The morphology, electrochemical and mechanical properties of PANI/P-PVA...     

Synthesis of amorphous SeP2/C composite by plasma assisted ball milling for high-performance anode materials of lithium and sodium-ion batteries

To promote substantially the performances of red phosphorous(P) anode for lithium and sodium-ion batteries, a simple plasma assisted milling(P-milling) method was used to in-situ synthesize SeP₂/C composite. The results showed that the amorphous SeP₂/C composite exhibits the excellent lithium and sodium storage performances duo to the small nano-granules size and complete combination of selenium(Se) and phosphorous(P) to generate Se–P alloy phase. It was observed that insid...     

Li3N film modified separator with homogenization effect of lithium ions for stable lithium metal battery

Lithium metal anode with high theoretical capacity is considered to be one of the most potential anode materials of the next generation. However, the growth of lithium dendrite seriously affects the application of lithium metal anode and the development of lithium metal batteries(LMBs). Herein, an ultrathin Li₃N film modified separator to homogenize the lithium ions and protect the lithium metal anode was reported. Due to the intrinsic properties of Li₃N, the functional sep...     

Dual elemental modulation in cationic and anionic sites of the multi-metal Prussian blue analogue pre-catalysts for promoted oxygen evolution reaction

Designing advanced electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of great significance owing to its crucial role in facilitating the production of clean hydrogen energy via water splitting. To date, it has been widely accepted that a pre-oxidation process with the in-situ generation of the catalytically active high-valence metal sites is essential for promoting the OER behavior of most transition-metal-based OER catalysts, or more felicitously speaking, pre-catalysts. Hence, exploring such pre-catalysts with high pre-oxidation reactivity is of high promise. Herein, we proposed the dual elemental modulation in the cationic and anionic sites of the multi-metal Prussian blue analogue (PBA) pre-catalysts, resulting in promoted OER behavior benefitted from the efficient pre-oxidation ability as well as the multi-metal synergy. Detailed investigations indicate that the Co-containing multi-metallic cations and mixed Fe^IIICo^III cyanide anions in NiCuCo^II–Fe^IIICo^III PBA (denoted as NiCuCo^II–Fe^IIICo^III) are beneficial to OER catalysis owing to the high intrinsic activity guaranteed by the local Co³⁺ active sites as well as the optimal multi-metal synergy. After the facile pre-oxidation process, additional high-valence Ni, Cu and Fe ions can be in-situ formed and serve as the active sites, thereby resulting in significantly improved OER behavior. For example, the OER current density of NiCuCo^II–Fe^IIICo^III exhibits 1.81 times enhancement even after 72 ?h continuous OER catalysis, and the required overpotential for 10 ?mA ?cm^?2 reduces from 288 ?mV for the fresh pre-catalyst to a remarkable record of 251 ?mV after the pre-oxidation-induced activation, making the optimal PBA-based catalyst a promising candidate for efficient and durable water electrolysis.     

Cu2O-templated fabrication of Ni(OH)2·0.75H2O hollow tubes for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Cu₂O is an ideal template material for the preparation of transition metal hydroxide/oxyhydroxides with oxygen evolution reaction (OER) enhanced catalytic performance. Here, inspired by Pearson's principle, Cu₂O wires were prepared and used as a sacrificial template to prepare Ni(OH)₂·0.75H₂O hollow tubes (Ni(OH)₂ HTs) with highly improved surface roughness. Benefiting from unique structural advantages, the Ni(OH)₂ HTs showed excellent catalytic activity, rapid kinetics and a long-term stability as the OER catalyst, where an overpotential of only 207 ?mV was required to drive a current density of 10 ?mA ?cm^?2, an ideal kinetics with a Tafel slope as 79.8 ?mV dec^?1 was calculated, and no obvious attenuation in chronoamperometry was discovered after operation for 24 ?h. This paper provides a novel template-assisted strategy to prepare high-performance transition metal-based OER catalysts possessing hollow and tubular structures.     

Bimetal nickel–cobalt phosphide directly grown on commercial graphite substrate by the one-step electrodeposition as efficient electrocatalytic electrode

It is challenging to find a method to obtain a catalyst with low cost and efficient multifunctional performances. Herein, in order to obtain the electrode with high-performance water splitting and non-enzymatic glucose detection, the commercial graphite sheet (GS) with excellent durability and electroconductivity was used as substrate material, and the non-noble ternary component Ni–Co–P catalyst with hierarchical architecture was fabricated on GS via a co-electrodeposition. The catalyst only required low overpotentials of 44.6, 76.5 and 49 mV to drive the current density of 10 mA cm⁻² alongside with the smaller Tafel slopes of 39.2, 44.8 and 112 mV dec⁻¹ for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 1.0 M KOH, 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1.0 M PBS solution, respectively. For oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the catalyst demonstrated a low overpotential of 304 mV to achieve the current density of 20 mA cm⁻² with excellent Tafel slope of 89.8 mV dec⁻¹ in alkaline solution. Furthermore, the Ni–Co–P/GS electrode serving as non-enzymatic glucose sensor exhibited the superior electrocatalytic activity with an ultrahigh sensitivity of 7400 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻², low detection limit of 0.425 μM (S/N = 3), and wide linear range (1–1200 μM).     

Corrosion resistance and thermal stability of sputtered Fe44Al34Ti7N15 and Al61Ti11N28 thin films for prospective application in oil and gas industry

Fe-and Al-based thin-film metallic glass coatings (Fe₄₄Al₃₄Ti₇N₁₅ and Al₆₁Ti₁₁N₂₈) were fabricated using magnetron co-sputtering technique, and their corrosion performances compared against wrought 316L stainless steel. The results of GI-XRD and XPS analyses demonstrated amorphous structure and oxide layer formation on the surface of the fabricated thin films, respectively. The potentiodynamic (PD) polarization test in chloride-thiosulfate (NH₄Cl ​+ ​Na₂S₂O₃) solution revealed lower corrosion current (I_corr) (0.42 ​± ​0.02 ​μA/cm² and 0.086 ​± ​0.001 ​μA/cm² Vs. 0.76 ​± ​0.05 ​μA/cm²), lower passivation current (I_pass) (1.45 ​± ​0.03 ​μA/cm² and 1.83 ​± ​0.07 ​μA/cm² Vs. 1.98 ​± ​0.04 ​μA/cm²), and approximately six-fold higher breakdown potential (E_bd) for Fe- and Al-based coatings than those of wrought 316L stainless steel. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) of both films showed 4- and 2-fold higher charge transfer resistance (R_ct), 7- and 2.5-times higher film resistance (R_f), lower film capacitance values (Q_f) (10 ​± ​2.4 ​μS-s^acm^-2, and 5.41 ​± ​0.8 ​μS-s^acm^-2 Vs. 18 ​± ​2.21 ​μS-s^acm^-2), and lower double-layer capacitance values (Q_dl) (31.33 ​± ​4.74 ​μS-s^acm^-2, and 15.3 ​± ​0.48 ​μS-s^acm^-2 Vs. 43 ​± ​4.23 ​μS-s^acm^-2), indicating higher corrosion resistance of the thin films. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) scan exhibited that the passive films formed on the Fe- and Al-based coatings were more stable and less prone to pitting corrosion than the wrought 316L stainless steel. The surface morphology of both films via SEM endorsed the CV scan results, showing better resistance to pitting corrosion. Furthermore, the thermal analysis via TGA and DSC revealed the excellent thermal stability of the thin films over a wide temperature range typically observed in oil-gas industries.     

Large specific surface area S-doped Fe–N–C electrocatalysts derived from Metal–Organic frameworks for oxygen reduction reaction

It is highly desired but challenging to develop platinum group metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which can promote the commercialization of fuel cell technology. To achieve this target, we report a one-step doping method to prepare S-doped Fe–N–C catalysts using zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF-8) and iron (III) thiocyanate (Fe(SCN)₃) as precursor. Different from conventional doping approach, i.e. physical mixing, Fe(SCN)₃ is in-situ added during ZIF-8 formation which would encapsulate Fe(SCN)₃ molecules inside ZIF-8 to avoid structure destruction and create potential replacement of Zn ions by Fe ions to form uniform Fe–N₄ complexes. As a result, the prepared S-doped Fe–N–C catalysts own large specific surface areas with a maximum value of 1326 ​m² ​g⁻¹ and a dual-scale porous structure that benefits mass transport. Significantly, the composition-optimized catalyst exhibits superior ORR activity in both 0.1 ​M HClO₄ electrolyte and 0.1 ​M KOH electrolyte, in which the half-wave potential reaches 0.81 ​V and 0.92 ​V (vs. RHE), respectively. Remarkable stability is also attained, which loses 2 ​mV only after 10000 potential cycles in O₂-saturated 0.1 ​M HClO₄ and remains almost constant in O₂-saturated 0.1 ​M KOH, surpassing commercial Pt/C catalyst in both acidic and alkaline medium.     

Zr-xNb-4Sn alloys with low Young’s modulus and magnetic susceptibility for biomedical implants

The microstructure, mechanical and magnetic properties of Zr–x (8, 9, 10, wt.%)Nb–4Sn alloys were investigated to obtain novel Zr-based alloy with low Young’s modulus and magnetic susceptibility for biomedical implants. After homogenization annealing, hot forging and solution annealing, Zr–8Nb–4Sn, Zr–9Nb–4Sn and Zr–10Nb–4Sn alloys were composed of β+α″ phase, β+α″ phase, β+ω phase, respectively. The temperature at which the α" and ω phase were transformed into β phase during the heating process was about 200 ​°C, and the phase transformation temperature decreased with the increase of Nb element. Among all the Zr–x (x ​= ​8,9,10)Nb–4Sn(wt.%) alloys, Zr–9Nb–4Sn alloy had the lowest Young's modulus of 46.6 ​GPa and the low magnetic susceptibility of 1.294 ​× ​10⁻⁶ cm³g⁻¹, which has a good application prospect for biomedical applications.     

Pd–Ni–P metallic glass nanoparticles for nonenzymatic glucose sensing

Metallic glass nanoparticles hold great promise as nonenzymatic glucose sensors due to their rich low-coordinated active sites and high biocompatibility. However,their non-periodic atomic structure and unclear structure-property relationship pose significant challenges for realizing and optimizing their sensing performance. In this work, Pd–Ni–P metallic glass nanoparticles with variable compositions were successfully prepared as nonenzymatic glucose sensors via a laser-evaporated inertgas conde...     

Gas-Liquid Interfacial Plasma engineering under dilute nitric acid to improve hydrophilicity and OER performance of nickel foam

The world has been moving rapidly to find new eco-friendly energy sources. Water electrolysis consists of two reactions of Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER), whereas the OER is considered the rate-limiting step. The most commercialized electrode for OER in the alkaline electrolyte is Ni foam, but its original surface is hydrophobic. It is possible to accelerate the adsorption and desorption process of reactants and products during OER by adding hydrophilic functional groups such as –OH on the surface of Ni foam. In this study, a novel Gas-Liquid Interfacial Plasma (GLIP) engineering at room temperature was successfully applied to modify the Ni foam surface dilute (1 ?M) HNO₃ solution. At a current density of 400 ?mA ?cm^?2, GLIP-treated Ni foam electrodes at 1 ?M HNO₃ concentrations showed OER overpotentials of 458 ?mV. Among all, GLIP with 1 ?M HNO₃ treatment of 30 ?min showed 129 ?mV less overpotential than the nickel foam before treatment. In summary, GLIP can be justified as an environmentally friendly and efficient surface treatment to improve the wettability and OER performance of Ni-based electrodes in water electrolysis.     

Current Research Progress in Magnesium Borohydride for Hydrogen Storage (A review)

Hydrogen storage in solid-state materials is believed to be a most promising hydrogen-storage technology for high efficiency, low risk and low cost. Mg(BH₄)₂ is regarded as one of most potential materials in hydrogen storage areas in view of its high hydrogen capacities(14.9 wt% and 145–147 kg cm^-3). However, the drawbacks of Mg(BH₄)₂ including high desorption temperatures(about 250°C–580°C), sluggish kinetics, and poor reversibility make it...     

Binder- and conductive additive-free Ga2O3 nanowires as a self-healing anode for lithium storage

High-capacity anode materials have stimulated much attention to developing high-performance lithium-ion batteries. However, high-capacity anode materials commonly suffer from the pulverization matter that greatly hinders their practical applications, especially in terms of the high proportion of active materials. In this work, a Ga₂O₃nanowire electrode is synthesized by thermal evaporation and immediately used as an anode without the aid of binders and conductive additives....     

Effect of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in current collecting layer on the performance of zinc-air battery

Beyond reasonable designing catalysts, the optimization of preparing air cathode has far-reaching implications for the development of Zinc-air batteries. In this study, the effect of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in current collecting layer on the performance of Zinc-air battery was investigated. The results showed that as the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) content and heat treatment temperature changed, the hydrophobicity and porosity of current collecting layer also changed, thereby affecting the performance of air cathode. The air cathode assembled with PTFE-3-300 possessed an excellent electrochemical performance, which was prepared by brushing PTFE and acetylene black (wherein the mass ratio of them is 18:5) on current collecting layer and then heating at 300 °C. The obtained air cathode displayed relatively small polarization loss and excellent rate performance, showing a polarization potential of - 0.405 V vs. Hg/HgO at 100 mA cm⁻² and the voltage retention of 94.47% from 5 to 20 mA cm⁻². Besides, the air cathode displayed excellent discharge stability maintaining average potential 1.3249 V for 100 h. Based on this work, a detailed understanding of the relationship of PTFE and current collecting layer can be achieved to improve the electrode design, architecture and fabrication.     

A novel graphite/phenolic resin bipolar plate modified by doping carbon fibers for the application of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

In this study, the carbon fibers treated by three methods were selected as a reinforcement to investigate the influence on the properties of composite bipolar plates. The properties and microstructure of the composite bipolar plate were characterized by the four-point probe, universal test machine, contact angle tester and scanning electron microscopy. The optimum treatment methods and the fiber content were analysed. The results showed that the carbon fibers treated by Fenton reagent for 2 ​h exhibited the best performance, which could improve the electrical conductivity and the flexural strength for composite bipolar plate. Besides, the optimal content content of carbon fibers treated by Fenton reagent was 4%. The maximum power density of the PEMFC with the composite bipolar plates could reach 662.75 ​mW ​cm⁻² in H₂-air conditions. Therefore, the phenolic resin/graphite composite bipolar plate modified by doping carbon fibers was a promising candidate for bipolar plate materials for PEMFC.