Zhibo Yang

Phosphorus-doped silicon nanorod anodes for high power lithium-ion batteries

Heavy-phosphorus-doped silicon anodes were fabricated on CuO nanorods for application in high power lithium-ion batteries. Since the conductivity of lithiated CuO is significantly better than that of CuO, after the first discharge, the voltage cut-off window was then set to the range covering only the discharge–charge range of Si. Thus, the CuO core was in situ lithiated and acts merely as the electronic conductor in the following cycles. The Si anode presented herein exhibited a capacity of 990 mAh/g at the rate of 9 A/g after 100 cycles. The anode also presented a stable rate performance even at a current density as high as 20 A/g.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of flowerlike CuO–ZnO nanocomposites synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method

Flowerlike CuO–ZnO nanocomposite photocatalysts with different molar ratios of Cu to Zn, have been fabricated using a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic activities of the CuO–ZnO nanocomposites were investigated for their efficiency on the degradation of methyl orange dyes under mercury lamp irradiation, and the results showed that the nanocomposites possessed remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activities. The enhanced photocatalytic activities can be ascribed to the combined effects of suppression of the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and improved visible light utilization in CuO–ZnO nanocomposites.

Three-dimensionally Hierarchical Bi2WO6 Architectures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Three-dimensionally hierarchical Bi2WO6 architectures have been produced via a facile and economical hydrothermal method without any template or surfactant. This architecture with flower-like morphology is assembled by numbers of intercrossed nanosheets. Moreover, different Bi2WO6 nanostructures including multilayered disks and irregular nanoplates can also be produced by simply adjusting the pH value of the precursor solution. Importantly, this kind of hierarchically structured Bi2WO6 architecture exhibits a much better photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of rhodamine B than that of conventional Bi2WO6 multilayered disks and nanoplates. This enhanced photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the large specific surface areas, special structural features and high capability of absorbed oxygen species. The present work offers an effective approach for the further improvement of photocatalytic activity by designing a desirable micro/nanoarchitecture.