The intrinsic zinc dendrite growth aggravated by the uneven electric field at the Zn anode surface and the water‐induced parasitic reactions have largely impeded rechargeable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries for the practical applications in large‐scale energy storage. Here, an effective strategy is proposed to manipulate Zn deposition and simultaneously prevent the generation of insulating by‐products (Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O) for improved plating/stripping on Zn anodes by the addition of a nontoxic electrolyte additive, β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD). The simulation results indicate that β‐CD molecules prefer to adsorb horizontally on Zn (002) plane, regulating the diffusion pathways and deposition sites of Zn2+ for the preferred Zn deposition along (002) plane without dendrite formation and inhibiting the H2 generation and the formation of Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O by facilitating desolvation of [Zn(H2O)6]2+. Consequently, an ultra‐long stable cycling up to 1700 h at a high current density of 4 mA cm−2 can be achieved by the addition of β‐CD, 17 times that of the pure ZnSO4 electrolyte and the remarkable stability is also maintained under harsh test condition (40 mA cm−2, 20 mAh cm−2). This study highlights the important role of β‐CD in engineering the interfacial stability during Zn plating/stripping for high‐performing aqueous batteries.
Fatty acids, as a typical example of stearic acid, are a kind of cheap surfactant and have important applications. The challenging problem of industrial applications is their solubility. Herein, three organic amines-ethanolamine (EA), diethanolamine (DEA), and triethanolamine (TEA)-were used as counterions to increase the solubility of stearic acid, and the phase behaviors were investigated systematically. The phase diagrams were delineated at 25 and 50 °C, respectively. The phase-transition temperature was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, and the microstructures were vesicles and planar sheets observed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) observations. The apparent viscosity of the samples was determined by rheological characterizations. The values, rcmc, for the three systems were less than 30 mN·m(-1). Typical samples of bilayers used as foaming agents and emulsifiers were investigated for the foaming and emulsification assays. CO2 was introduced to change the solubility of stearic acid, inducing the transition of their surface activity and further achieving the goal of defoaming and demulsification.
The electronic structure of active sites is critically important for electrochemical reactions. Here, the authors report a facile approach to independently regulate the electronic structure of Fe in Ni 0.75 Fe 0.25 Se 2 by P doping. The resulting electrode exhibits superior catalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) showing a low overpotential (238 mV at 100 mA cm −2 , 185 mV at 10 mA cm −2 ) and an impressive durability in an alkaline medium. Additionally, the mass activity of 328.19 A g −1 and turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.18 s −1 at an overpotential of 500 mV are obtained for P─Ni 0.75 Fe 0.25 Se 2 which is much higher than that of Ni 0.75 Fe 0.25 Se 2 and RuO 2 . This work presents a new strategy for the rational design of efficient electrocatalysts for OER.
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