Jiyang Deng

Mechanical Force-Driven Growth of Elongated Bending TiO2-based Nanotubular Materials for Ultrafast Rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries

A stirring hydrothermal process that enables the formation of elongated bending TiO2 -based nanotubes is presented. By making use of its bending nature, the elongated TiO2 (B) nanotubular crosslinked-network anode electrode can cycle over 10 000 times in half cells while retaining a relatively high capacity (114 mA h g(-1)) at an ultra-high rate of 25 C (8.4 A g(-1)).

Unravelling the Correlation between the Aspect Ratio of Nanotubular Structures and Their Electrochemical Performance To Achieve High-Rate and Long-Life Lithium-Ion Batteries†

The fundamental understanding of the relationship between the nanostructure of an electrode and its electrochemical performance is crucial for achieving high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, the relationship between the nanotubular aspect ratio and electrochemical performance of LIBs is elucidated for the first time. The stirring hydrothermal method was used to control the aspect ratio of viscous titanate nanotubes, which were used to fabricate additive-free TiO2 -based electrode materials. We found that the battery performance at high charging/discharging rates is dramatically boosted when the aspect ratio is increased, due to the optimization of electronic/ionic transport properties within the electrode materials. The proof-of-concept LIBs comprising nanotubes with an aspect ratio of 265 can retain more than 86 % of their initial capacity over 6000 cycles at a high rate of 30 C. Such devices with supercapacitor-like rate performance and battery-like capacity herald a new paradigm for energy storage systems.

Titanate and titania nanostructured materials for environmental and energy applications: a review

Nanosized TiO2-based materials with unique structural and functional properties have already led to breakthroughs in various applications including photocatalysis, adsorption, lithium-ion batteries, etc. In this review, we present the state-of-the-art development of fabrication strategies of titanate/titania nanostructures and their corresponding environmental and energy applications. First, the structural features of titanate and titania and their correlation are explained in great detail. After which, recent research efforts on the development of multi-dimensional titanate materials are summarized. Following that, the applications of titanate/titania nanomaterials in the fields of adsorbents, photocatalysis, lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaics, electrochromic devices, self-cleaning and oil–water separation are reviewed. Finally, the future perspectives for the nanostructured titanate and titania are discussed. Continuous development in this area is essential to endow TiO2-based materials with advanced functionality and improved performance for practical applications.

Conductive Inks Based on a Lithium Titanate Nanotube Gel for High‐Rate Lithium‐Ion Batteries with Customized Configuration

Solution-processable inks based on lithium titanate with a conductive network architecture, toward high-rate lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with a customized configuration are developed. The inks, with tunable viscosity, are compatible for on-demand coating techniques. The lithium titanate electrode derived from these inks exhibits excellent high-rate capacity (≈124 mA h g(-1) at 90 C, 15.7 A g(-1) ) after 1000 cycles.

Synthesis of Nanostructured Silver/Silver Halides on Titanate Surfaces and Their Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance

Dense and uniform silver halides AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) nanoparticles were successfully fabricated on layered titanate nanowired honeycomb (TNHC) thin films. The growth of AgX nanocrystals was carried out through two steps. Firstly, ion-exchange was employed to incorporate Ag(+) ions into the interlayer of the titanate nanowires. Secondly, hydrogen halide (HX) solution was rapidly injected onto the ion-exchanged silver TNHC surface to generate nanosized AgX particles on TNHC films. The effect of the reaction time, solution pH, and concentration of halide anions on the morphology of the AgX photocatalysts has been studied. Followed by light-irradiation, the optimized Ag/AgX thin films exhibited excellent degradation performance under visible light because of localized surface plasmon resonance effect.

Self‐Protection of Electrochemical Storage Devices via a Thermal Reversible Sol–Gel Transition

Thermal self-protected intelligent electrochemical storage devices are fabricated using a reversible sol-gel transition of the electrolyte, which can decrease the specific capacitance and increase and enable temperature-dependent charging and discharging rates in the device. This work represents proof of a simple and useful concept, which shows tremendous promise for the safe and controlled power delivery in electrochemical devices.

Water‐Soluble Sericin Protein Enabling Stable Solid–Electrolyte Interphase for Fast Charging High Voltage Battery Electrode

Spinel LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 (LNMO) is the most promising cathode material for achieving high energy density lithium-ion batteries attributed to its high operating voltage (≈4.75 V). However, at such high voltage, the commonly used battery electrolyte is suffered from severe oxidation, forming unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers. This would induce capacity fading, self-discharge, as well as inferior rate capabilities for the electrode during cycling. This work first time discovers that the electrolyte oxidation is effectively negated by introducing an electrochemically stable silk sericin protein, which is capable to stabilize the SEI layer and suppress the self-discharge behavior for LNMO. In addition, robust mechanical support of sericin coating maintains the structural integrity during the fast charging/discharging process. Benefited from these merits, the sericin-based LNMO electrode possesses a much lower Li-ion diffusion energy barrier (26.1 kJ mol-1 ) for than that of polyvinylidene fluoride-based LNMO electrode (37.5 kJ mol-1 ), delivering a remarkable high-rate performance. This work heralds a new paradigm for manipulating interfacial chemistry of electrode to solve the key obstacle for LNMO commercialization, opening a powerful avenue for unlocking the current challenges for a wide family of high operating voltage cathode materials (>4.5 V) toward practical applications.

Correction: Titanate and titania nanostructured materials for environmental and energy applications: a review

Correction for ‘Titanate and titania nanostructured materials for environmental and energy applications: a review’ by Yanyan Zhang et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 79479–79510.