Zubiao Wen

Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc/Aluminum Ion Battery with Good Cycling Performance.

Developing rechargeable batteries with low cost is critically needed for the application in large-scale stationary energy storage systems. Here, an aqueous rechargeable zinc//aluminum ion battery is reported on the basis of zinc as the negative electrode and ultrathin graphite nanosheets as the positive electrode in an aqueous Al2(SO4)3/Zn(CHCOO)2 electrolyte. The positive electrode material was prepared through a simple electrochemically expanded method in aqueous solution. The cost for the aqueous electrolyte together with the Zn negative electrode is low, and their raw materials are abundant. The average working voltage of this aqueous rechargeable battery is 1.0 V, which is higher than those of most rechargeable Al ion batteries in an ionic liquid electrolyte. It could also be rapidly charged within 2 min while maintaining a high capacity. Moreover, its cycling behavior is also very good, with capacity retention of nearly 94% after 200 cycles.

Tough BMIMCl-based ionogels exhibiting excellent and adjustable performance in high-temperature supercapacitors

Herein, we describe a supramolecular approach to synthesize tough ionogels through self-initiated ultraviolet polymerization. The prepared ionogel can be used as the integrated electrolyte and separator in the all-solid supercapacitor. The electrochemical performance can be tuned by the temperature, and a higher value can be achieved at higher temperature.

Nanostructured intercalation compounds as cathode materials for supercapacitors

Abstract This article reviews the research progress in the intercalation compounds for cathode materials for supercapacitors. Typical methods to prepare various intercalation compounds with different nanostructures are summarized. More specifically, the approaches can be subdivided into physical routes such as sonication and microwaves, and chemical routes such as hydrothermal, sol-gel and template methods. The most recent work on nanostructured intercalation compounds including LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, Li[Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3]O2, Li1+xV3O8, NaxMnO2, and KxMnO2 is mainly focused including their preparation and electrochemical performance, and new trends in nanomaterials development for supercapacitors are pointed out.