Aluminium-tin-based alloys with different compositions were synthesized by a high-pressure torsion (HPT) method. The effect of different alloying elements and processing routes on the hydrogen generation performance of the alloys was investigated. The results show that Zn can enhance the hydrogen generation rate and yield by promoting pitting corrosion. The highest reactivity in water was achieved for an Al-30wt %Sn-10wt %Zn alloy. Detailed analysis of the Al-30wt %Sn-10wt %Zn alloy shows that increasing the shear strain and the resultant formation of ultrafine grains and phase mixing enhance the hydrogen generation rate through the effects of both nanogalvanic cells and pitting corrosion.

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One of the hottest research topics at present is the construction of environmentally friendly and secure aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) using an aqueous electrolyte instead of an organic electrolyte. As a result of their diverse structure, valence state, high theoretical specific capacity, and other benefits, vanadium-based materials, which are frequently employed as the cathode of AZIBs, have drawn the attention of many researchers. The low cycle stability of zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) is mostly caused by the disintegration of the vanadium-based cathode materials during continuous charge and discharge. In this work, using 3M Zn(CF3SO3)2 as the electrolyte and hydrothermally synthesized Ag2V4O11 as the cathode material, the high-rate performance and extended cycle life of ZIBs were evaluated. The effects of different hydrothermal temperatures on the microstructure, capacity, and cycle stability of the Ag2V4O11 cathode material were examined. The experimental results show that Ag2V4O11 exhibits a typical intercalation-displacement process when used as the cathode material. The multiplicative performance and cycle stability of the cathode material were significantly enhanced at a hydrothermal temperature of 180 °C. Ag2V4O11-180 has a high discharge specific capacity of 251.5 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A·g−1 and a long cycle life (117.6 mAh·g−1 after 1000 cycles at a current density of 3 A·g−1). According to the electrochemical kinetic investigation, the cathode material has a high pseudocapacitive charge storage and Zn2+ diffusion coefficient. This is attributed to the large layer spacing and the Ag+ anchored interlayer structure.

Lithium-rich manganese based layered oxide yLi2MnO3∙(1-y)LiMO2 (M=Ni, Co and Mn) is one of the candidate materials for high-capacity cathodes in next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Ion doping with cation and introducing oxygen vacancy are regarded as two methods to change the electrochemical performance of Li-rich cathode materials. In this work, Li1.2Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2 was synthesized via one-step co-precipitation process, ion doping with low cost element Cu as well as high-pressure torsion were carried out to modify the Li-rich material. Results show that doping with Cu can slightly improve the specific discharge capacity as well as the coulombic efficiency which may be attributed to the lower cation mixing degree.