Fluorine Modified Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Enables Long-Life Zn-I Batteries by Suppression of Polyiodide Shuttle.

Aqueous zinc-iodine (Zn-I) batteries have emerged as a promising candidate for large-scale energy storage applications, owing to their inherent safety, cost-effectiveness, and high specific capacity. However, their commercial implementation is severely hindered by the irreversible capacity degradation and limited cycle life, which are caused by the unavoidable iodine shuttle effect resulting from the formation of soluble I species. Herein, we report the synthesis of three-dimensional hexapod-like fluorine-containing zeolitic imidazolate framework (H-F-ZIF) nanoparticles for separator modification to effectively inhibit the iodine shuttle effect.

Nanoscale Oxygenous Heterogeneity in FePC Glass for Highly Efficient and Reusable Catalytic Performance.

Metallic glass, with its unique disordered atomic structure and high density of low-coordination sites, is regarded as the most competitive new catalyst for environmental catalysis. However, the efficiency and stability of metallic glass catalysts are often affected by their atomic configuration. Thus, the design and regulation of the nanoscale structure of metallic glasses to improve their catalytic efficiency and stability remains a challenge.

Superimposed Effect of La Doping and Structural Engineering to Achieve Oxygen-Deficient TiNbO for Ultrafast Li-Ion Storage.

TiNbO (TNO) is a competitive candidate of a fast-charging anode due to its high specific capacity. However, the insulator nature seriously hinders its rate performance. Herein, the La-doped mesoporous TiNbO materials (La-M-TNO) were first synthesized via a facile one-step solvothermal method with the assistance of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP).

Oxide Nanoclusters on Ti C MXenes to Deactivate Defects for Enhanced Lithium Ion Storage Performance.

The commercialization of MXenes as anodes for lithium-ion batteries is largely impeded by low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) and unfavorable cycling stability, which are closely associated with defects such as Ti vacancies (V ) in Ti C MXenes. Herein, an effective strategy is developed to deactivate V defects by in situ growing Al O nanoclusters on MXenes to alleviate the irreversible electrolyte decomposition and Li dendrites formation trend induced by defects, improving ICE and cycling stability. Furthermore, it is revealed that excessively lithiophilic V defects would impede Li ions diffusion due to their strong adsorption, leading to a locally nonuniform Li flux to these "hot spots," setting scene for the formation of Li dendrites.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Cobalt Nanocluster Inlaid Porous Carbon as High-Efficiency Catalyst for Advanced Potassium-Sulfur Batteries.

Despite high theoretical capacity and earth-abundant resources, the potential industrialization of potassium-sulfur (K-S) batteries is severely plagued by poor electrochemical reaction kinetics and a parasitic shuttle effect. Herein, a facile low-temperature pyrolysis strategy is developed to synthesize N-doped Co nanocluster inlaid porous N-doped carbon derived from ZIF-67 as catalytic cathodes for K-S batteries. To maximize the utilization efficiency, the size of Co nanoparticles can be tuned from 7 nm to homogeneously distributed 3 nm clusters to create more active sites to regulate affinity for S/polysulfides, improving the conversion reaction kinetics between captured polysulfides and KS/S, fundamentally suppressing the shuttle effect.

Encapsulating Ultrafine Sb Nanoparticles in Na Pre-Intercalated 3D Porous TiCT MXene Nanostructures for Enhanced Potassium Storage Performance.

Taking into consideration the advantages of the highly theoretical capacity of antimony (Sb) and abundant surface redox reaction sites of Na pre-intercalated 3D porous TiCT (Na-TiCT) architectures, we elaborately designed the Sb/Na-TiCT hybrid with Sb nanoparticles homogeneously distributed in 3D porous Na-TiCT architectures through a facile electrostatic attraction and carbothermic reduction process. Na-TiCT architectures with more open structures and larger active specific surface area not only could certainly alleviate volume changes and hinder the aggregation of Sb nanoparticles in the cycling process to improve the structural stability but also significantly strengthen the electron-transfer kinetics and provide unblocked K diffusion channels to promote ionic/electronic transport rate. Furthermore, the ultrafine Sb nanoparticles could efficiently shorten K transport distance and expose more accessible active sites to improve capacity utilization.