A series of nitrogen-containing micropore-donimated materials, porous triazine-based frameworks (PTFs), are constructed through the structural evolution of a 2D microporous covalent triazine-based framework. The PTFs feature predictable and controllable nitrogen doping and pore structures, which serve as a model-like system to more deeply understand the heteroatom effect and micropore effect in ionic liquid-based supercapacitors. The experimental results reveal that the nitrogen doping can enhance the supercapacitor performance mainly through affecting the relative permittivity of the electrode materials. Although microspores' contribution is not as obvious as the doped nitrogen, the great performances of the micropore-dominated PTF suggest that micropore-dominated materials still have great potential in ionic liquid-based supercapacitors.

The nanostructuring of silicon (Si) has recently received great attention, as it holds potential to deal with the dramatic volume change of Si and thus improve lithium storage performance. Unfortunately, such transformative materials design principle has generally been plagued by the relatively low tap density of Si and hence mediocre volumetric capacity (and also volumetric energy density) of the battery. Here, we propose and demonstrate an electrode consisting of a textured silicon@graphitic carbon nanowire array. Such a unique electrode structure is designed based on a nanoscale system engineering strategy. The resultant electrode prototype exhibits unprecedented lithium storage performance, especially in terms of volumetric capacity, without the expense of compromising other components of the battery. The fabrication method is simple and scalable, providing new avenues for the rational engineering of Si-based electrodes simultaneously at the individual materials unit scale and the materials ensemble scale.

Tin-core/carbon-sheath coaxial nanocables directly integrated into a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) surface are constructed by a new strategy involving a RGO-mediated procedure. The as-synthesized nanocables, with uniform diameter and high aspect ratio, are versatile and exhibit excellent lithium storage properties, as revealed by electrochemical evaluation.

A bottom-up method is used to construct novel metal-free catalysts for deeper study of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis. Through controlling the structural evolution of a 2D covalent triazine-based framework, the conductivity, nitrogen configurations, and multidoping structures of the as-prepared catalysts can be easily tuned, which makes a great platform for both studying the mechanisms of the ORR and optimizing the performances of the metal-free catalysts.