The development of high energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has spurred the designing and production of novel anode materials to substitute currently commercial using graphitic materials. Herein, twisted SiC nanofibers toward LIBs anode materials, containing 92.5 wt% cubic β-SiC and 7.5 wt% amorphous C, were successfully synthesized from resin-silica composites. The electrochemical measurements showed that the SiC-based electrode delivered a stable reversible capacity of 254.5 mAh g−1 after 250 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g−1. It is interesting that a high discharge capacity of 540.1 mAh g−1 was achieved after 500 cycles at an even higher current density of 0.3 A g−1, which is higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite. The results imply that SiC nanomaterials are potential anode candidate for LIBs with high stability due to their high structure stability as supported with the transmission electron microscopy images.

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The morphologies and pore architectures of carbon nanostructures could be precisely controlled via a selfassembly process. This work presented resorcinol-formaldehyde resin-silica composite nanofibers, which were synthesized through a sol−gel method under the help of costructure directing agent (CSDA) (S)-β-citronellol and nhexanol. The self-assembly process and the nanostructure of obtained composite nanofibers were changed by adding different CSDA. After carbonization and getting rid of silica, carbonaceous nanotubes and mesoporous nanofibers were obtained, respectively. Their electrochemical performance was tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Stable discharge capacities of 574.3 mA h g −1 for carbonaceous nanotubes and 609.9 mA h g −1 for mesoporous carbonaceous nanofibers after 300 cycles were achieved at current density of 0.1 A g −1 . Thus, a facile method of designing and fabricating excellent carbon anode candidates for LIBs was provided.

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Chiral and helical polymers possess special helical structures and optical property, and may find applications in chiral catalysis and optical devices. This work presents the preparation and formation process of helical phenolic resins through a sol-gel transcription method. A pair of bola-type chiral low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) derived from valine are used as templates, while 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid and formaldehyde are used as precursors. The electron microscopy images show that the phenolic resins are single-handed helical bundles comprised of helical ultrafine nanofibers. The diffused reflection circular dichroism spectra indicate that the helical phenolic resins exhibit optical activity. A possible formation mechanism is proposed, which shows the co-assembly of the LMWGs and the precursors.