Mingpeng Yu

High-rate lithiation-induced reactivation of mesoporous hollow spheres for long-lived lithium-ion batteries

Mechanical and chemical degradations of high-capacity anodes, resulting from lithiation-induced stress accumulation, volume expansion and pulverization, and unstable solid-electrolyte interface formation, represent major mechanisms of capacity fading, limiting the lifetime of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Here we report that the mechanical degradation on cycling can be deliberately controlled to finely tune mesoporous structure of the metal oxide sphere and optimize stable solid-electrolyte interface by high-rate lithiation-induced reactivation. The reactivated Co3O4 hollow sphere exhibits a reversible capacity above its theoretical value (924 mAh g(-1) at 1.12 C), enhanced rate performance and a cycling stability without capacity fading after 7,000 cycles at a high rate of 5.62 C. In contrast to the conventional approach of mitigating mechanical degradation and capacity fading of anodes using nanostructured materials, high-rate lithiation-induced reactivation offers a new perspective in designing high-performance electrodes for long-lived lithium-ion batteries.

Flexible pillared graphene-paper electrodes for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors.

Flexible graphene paper (GP) pillared by carbon black (CB) nanoparticles using a simple vacuum filtration method is developed as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors. Through the introduction of CB nanoparticles as spacers, the self-restacking of graphene sheets during the filtration process is mitigated to a great extent. The pillared GP-based supercapacitors exhibit excellent electrochemical performances and cyclic stabilities compared with GP without the addition of CB nanoparticles. At a scan rate of 10 mV s(-1) , the specific capacitance of the pillared GP is 138 F g(-1) and 83.2 F g(-1) with negligible 3.85% and 4.35% capacitance degradation after 2000 cycles in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. At an extremely fast scan rate of 500 mV s (-1) , the specific capacitance can reach 80 F g(-1) in aqueous electrolyte. No binder is needed for assembling the supercapacitor cells and the pillared GP itself may serve as a current collector due to its intrinsic high electrical conductivity. The pillared GP has great potential in the development of promising flexible and ultralight-weight supercapacitors for electrochemical energy storage.

High responsivity, fast ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from ZnO nanoparticle–graphene core–shell structures

We report a simple, efficient and versatile method for assembling metal oxide nanomaterial-graphene core-shell structures. An ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from the ZnO nanoparticle-graphene core-shell structures showed high responsivity and fast transient response, which are attributed to the improved carrier transport efficiency arising from graphene encapsulation.

An ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from WO3 nanodiscs/reduced graphene oxide composite material

A high sensitivity, fast ultraviolet (UV) photodetector was fabricated from WO₃ nanodiscs (NDs)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite material. The WO₃ NDs/reduced GO composite material was synthesized using a facile three-step synthesis procedure. First, the Na₂WO₄/GO precursor was synthesized by homogeneous precipitation. Second, the Na₂WO₄/GO precursor was transformed into Na₂WO₄/GO composites by acidification. Finally, the Na₂WO₄/GO composites were reduced to WO₃ NDs/RGO via a hydrothermal reduction process. The UV photodetector showed a fast transient response and high responsivity, which are attributed to the improved carrier transport and collection efficiency through graphene. The excellent material properties of the WO₃ NDs/RGO composite demonstrated in this work may open up new possibilities for using WO₃ NDs/RGO for future optoelectronic applications.

Enhanced Ultraviolet Emission from Poly(vinyl alcohol) ZnO Nanoparticles Using a SiO2–Au Core/Shell Structure

Enhanced near band gap edge (NBE) emissions of PVA-ZnO nanoparticles were achieved by employing SiO(2)-Au core/shell nanostructures whereas the defect-level emission (DLE) is greatly suppressed. A maximum enhancement of nearly 400% was observed using SiO(2)-Au for the emission with optical resonance at 554 nm. SiO(2)-Au core/shell nanostructures also show a superior tunability of resonance energy as compared to that of the pure metal nanoparticles. The enhancement of the NBE emission and suppressed DLE is ascribed to the transfer of the energetic electrons excited by surface plasmon from metal nanoparticles to the conduction band of ZnO nanoparticles.

Heterojunction photodiode fabricated from hydrogen treated ZnO nanowires grown on p-silicon substrate

A heterojunction photodiode was fabricated from ZnO nanowires (NWs) grown on a p-type Si (100) substrate using a hydrothermal method. Post growth hydrogen treatment was used to improve the conductivity of the ZnO NWs. The heterojunction photodiode showed diode characteristics with low reverse saturation current (5.58 × 10(-7) A), relatively fast transient response, and high responsivity (22 A/W at 363 nm). Experiments show that the photoresponsivity of the photodiode is dependent on the polarity of the voltages. The photoresponsivity of the device was discussed in terms of the band diagrams of the heterojunction and the carrier diffusion process.

Heterojunction photodiode fabricated from multiwalled carbon nanotube/ZnO nanowire/p-silicon composite structure

A heterojunction photodiode was fabricated from multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ZnO nanowires/p-Si (100) substrate composite structure. The heterojunction photodiode demonstrated a faster transient response and higher responsivity than the reference sample without deposition of MWCNTs, which is attributed to improved carrier collection and transport efficiency through the MWCNTs network. The high photoresponsivities of the devices are explained in terms of operation as a hybrid of photodiode and photoconductor modes. The spectral response of the devices showed dependence on voltage polarity and is attributed to the high valance band offset in the interfacial region of ZnO and p-Si substrate.

Electrospray deposition of a Co3O4 nanoparticles–graphene composite for a binder-free lithium ion battery electrode

A binder-free anode was fabricated from a Co3O4–graphene composite by direct electrospray deposition on current collectors. The highly-interconnected mesoporous structure enables fast ion transport and accommodates the volume expansion of Co3O4 upon Li+ insertion/extraction. The incorporation of highly conductive graphene also improves the charge transport and thus the electrochemical performance.

Ultraviolet Photodetector Fabricated From Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Zinc-Oxide Nanowires/p-GaN Composite Structure

An ultraviolet (UV) heterojunction photodetector was fabricated from multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/zinc-oxide nanowires (NWs)/p-GaN composite structure. The photodetector demonstrated significant rectifying characteristics and relative fast transient response with response time on the order of milliseconds. Under back illumination, the photodetector exhibited a narrow bandpass photoresponse spectrum (13-nm full-width at half-maximum) centered at 375 nm with a maximum responsivity of 6 mA/W. The good performance of this heterojunction photodetector is attributed to improved carrier transport and collection efficiency through the MWCNTs network deposited on top of the ZnO NWs.