Cover Image, Volume 4, Number 2, March 2022

A Facile Carbon Coating on Mg‐Embedded SiOx Alloy for Fabrication of High‐Energy Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…It was reported that the low initial CE of SiO x was attributed because of the direct interaction of active material/electrolyte interfaces which led to the formation of an irreversible phase of Li 2 O and Li 4 SiO 4 during lithiation. [ 19 ] Consequently, doping heteroelements (e.g., Mg) and uniformly coating highly amorphous carbon with a low concentration of oxygen‐containing functional groups seems to remain the dominant factor in reaching a high initial CE of SiO x ‐based anodes that promotes their practical commercialization.…”

“…[ 48 ] The highest carbide species content in the SEI film of MSC‐10 indicates the slowest SEI‐film growth on the surface of the electrode. [ 19 ] Moreover, MSC‐10 has the lowest concentration of Li 2 CO 3 species in the SEI layer. Due to the poor electronic/ionic conductivities of Li 2 CO 3 , it could increase polarization between the electrode/electrolyte interface and thus reduce the Li‐ion diffusion kinetics.…”

“…[ 16 ] Furthermore, poor electronic conductivity and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) caused by repeated volume expansion/contraction still results in inferior electrochemical performance of SiO x anodes. [ 19 ]…”

“…[16] Furthermore, poor electronic conductivity and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) caused by repeated volume expansion/contraction still results in inferior electrochemical performance of SiO x anodes. [19] To overcome the issues related to the low electronic conductivity and mitigate the volume variation of SiO x , there are some approaches have been reported, including coating with conductive buffer materials, [20][21][22] downsizing the particle size, [23,24] and altering the particle morphology. [21,24] Among them, the uniform and conformal carbon layer on the surface of active materials is highly desirable to boost the electrochemical properties.…”

Manipulating Molecular Structure to Trigger Ultrafast and Long‐Life Potassium Storage of Fe0.4Ni0.6S Solid Solution

“…[1,2] Among numerous potential candidates, likes sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), [3,4] aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs), [5,6] and zincion batteries (ZIBs), [7][8][9] potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) present impressive superiority for large-scale of energy storage including 1) natural abundance of potassium resources, as well as low cost of production; 2) higher potential energy density and open-circuit voltage derive from the low redox potential of K/K + (−2.93 V for K/K + vs SHE). [10][11][12] Nevertheless, due to the large radius of K-ions (1.40 Å), the repeated intercalating/extraction processes in active material would cause sluggish diffusion kinetics and extreme volumetric deformation, especially for anode material at a high rate, thus leading to poor structural stability and inferior cycle lifespan. [13] Therefore, it is significant to explore appropriate anode materials for advanced PIBs.…”