An amorphous ZnO and oxygen vacancy modified nitrogen-doped carbon skeleton with lithiophilicity and ionic conductivity for stable lithium metal anodes

Abstract

Lithium metal is regarded as the most potential anode material for batteries with a high energy density, while seriously hampered by the dead Li and Li dendrites generated during cycling....

Melamine Foam-Derived Carbon Scaffold for Dendrite-Free and Stable Zinc Metal Anode

“…the results of elemental mapping show that carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen elements are uniformly distributed on their surface ( Figure S1 ). This three-dimensional structure provides interconnected channels, facilitating rapid e − transport and excellent conductivity [ 28 , 33 , 35 ]. The porous 3D carbon foam framework can effectively alleviate the volume expansion of the electrode during repeated charge and discharge cycles, facilitating the integrity of the electrode structure and excellent cycling performance.…”

“…The carbon foam was fabricated via the carbonization method as described elsewhere [ 33 ]. Carbon foam (CF) was prepared by calcining melamine foam at 700 °C for 2 h under an Ar 2 atmosphere (The heating rate was 5 °C min −1 ).…”

“…Melamine foam, a commercially available material, has been widely used in the chemical industry due to its low cost (~¥ 2.6 g −1 , price from SINOYQX Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China), low density, high porosity, and open structures [ 32 ]. The melamine foam-derived CF has rich N-containing functional groups, such as pyridine nitrogen, pyrrole nitrogen and C=O [ 33 ], which have been proven to be highly zincophilic [ 34 ]. Moreover, these N-containing functional groups on CF would effectively control uniform Zn deposition.…”

Room-Temperature Rapid Self-Healing Polymer Binders for Si Anodes in Highly Cycling-Stable and Capacity-Maintained Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…However, at present, anode materials with a relatively low theoretical specific capacity (372 mAh g –1 ) badly restrict the development of high specific capacity batteries. Consequently, much attention has been paid to seek high-capacity anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). − Due to its high theoretical specific capacity (4200 mAh g –1 ), a relatively low operating voltage (around 0.4 V vs Li + /Li), as well as advantages of environmental friendliness and rich abundance, Si has become one of the most promising anode materials. − Unfortunately, great volume change (around 300%) of Si particles occurs during the embedding and de-embedding process of Li + , which results in squeezing and pulverization of Si particles, destroying the electrode structure and thus leading to an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). In brief, the volumetric expansion/shrinking of the Si anode largely reduces the cycling life of the electrode, which indeed hurdles the practical application of the Si anode. ,− …”

“…Among them, changing or modifying the Si anode binders has attracted wide attention. − Especially, polymer binders play a vital role in stabilizing the inner structure of electrode materials and shortening the transmission tunnel of Li-ions. , Many researchers predicted the future development of binders for next-generation energy-storage devices. , To date, besides commercial poly­(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), various binders consisting of rich hydroxyl (−OH) or carboxyl (−COOH) have been widely reported, e.g., poly­(acrylic acid) (PAA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and alginate (Alg), low-cost bio-derived materials (BDMs), which can apparently improve the cycling life by bonding with the surface of Si particles. However, these linear binders do not show ideal mechanical properties and stable electrochemical behaviors for Si anodes during lithiation and delithiation. − On this basis, some conductive polymers are adopted to enhance the ionic conductivity of Si anodes, such as polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophen (PTH), etc. ,− Ionically and electronically conductive polymers (c-PEOPEDOT:PSS/PEI) have also been widely studied for high-performance Si anodes . However, these polymers cannot assist in preserving the integrity of Si particles in anodes, especially when they undergo severe volume change during repeated charging/discharging processes.…”