We develop a simple and economical thermal annealing method for the synthesis of phosphorus-doped graphene, which exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction and enhances the electrochemical performance as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The experimental results suggest the significant role of phosphorus atoms in graphene.
Due to their unique properties, together with their ease of synthesis and functionalization, graphene-based materials have been showing great potential in energy storage and conversion. These hybrid structures display excellent material characteristics, including high carrier mobility, faster recombination rate and long-time stability. In this review, after a short introduction to graphene and its derivatives, we summarize the recent advances in the synthesis and applications of graphene and its derivatives in the fields of energy storage (lithium ion, lithium-air, lithium-sulphur batteries and supercapacitors) and conversion (oxygen reduction reaction for fuel cells). This article further highlights the working principles and problems hindering the practical applications of graphene-based materials in lithium batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells. Future research trends towards new methodologies to the design and the synthesis of graphene-based nanocomposite with unique architectures for electrochemical energy storage and conversion are also proposed. The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Phase-controlled nickel sulfide (Ni3 S4 and NiS1.03 ) nanoparticle (NP)/nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) composites are prepared through a facile one-pot hydrothermal process. The composites show ultrahigh capacity retentions of 98.87% and 95.94% for Ni3 S4 /NG and NiS1.03 /NG electrodes, respectively, as anode materials for lithium ion batteries.
It is extremely desirable but challenging to create highly active, stable, and low-cost catalysts towards oxygen reduction reaction to replace Pt-based catalysts in order to perform the commercialization of fuel cells. Here, a novel iron nitride/nitrogen doped-graphene aerogel hybrid, synthesized by a facile two-step hydrothermal process, in which iron phthalocyanine is uniformly dispersed and anchored on graphene surface with the assist of π-π stacking and oxygen-containing functional groups, is reported. As a result, there exist strong interactions between Fe x N nanoparticles and graphene substrates, leading to a synergistic effect towards oxygen reduction reaction. It is worth noting that the onset potential and current density of the hybrid are significantly better and the charge transfer resistance is much lower than that of pure nitrogen-doped graphene aerogel, free Fe x N and their physical mixtures. The hybrid also exhibits comparable catalytic activity as commercial Pt/C at the same catalyst loading, while its stability and resistance to methanol crossover are superior. Interestingly, it is found that, apart from the active nature of the hybrid, the large surface area and porosity are responsible for its excellent onset potential and the high density of Fe-N-C sties and small size of Fe x N particles boost charge transfer rate.
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