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Li-O₂ batteries show high energy storage potential, but there remain many material challenges that must be solved to fully develop them into a robust technology. The reactivity of the electrolyte against lithium metal as the anode or with oxygen superoxide radicals in the cathode is the main problem that may be alleviated by the use of ionic liquids and solid electrolytes. In this work, iongel solid flexible electrolytes with facile preparation are designed based on five variations of the successful N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquid. These iongels show an outstanding ionic conductivity of 7.8 × 10^-3 S·cm^-1 at 25 °C, excellent performance against lithium metal and reduced dendritic growth, even at a high current density rate of 2 mA·cm^-2. Tests on Li-O₂ cells show a 100% capacity retention for 25 cycles with limited capacity. Hence, this work provides a plausible pathway to tackle the design of effective lithium protection methods and efficient solid electrolytes for Li-O₂ batteries. LESS      Full article

Lithium (Li) metal-based rechargeable batteries hold significant promise to meet the ever-increasing demands for portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage, making them the optimal alternatives for next-generation secondary batteries. Nevertheless, Li metal anodes currently suffer from major drawbacks, including safety concerns, capacity decay and lifespan degradation, which arise from uncontrollable dendrite growth, notorious side reactions and infinite volume variation, thereby limiting their current practical application. Numerous critical endeavors from different perspectives have been dedicated to developing highly stable Li metal anodes. Herein, a comprehensive overview of Li metal anodes regarding fundamental mechanisms, scientific challenges, characterization techniques, theoretical investigations and advanced strategies is systematically presented. First, the basic working principles of Li metal-based batteries are introduced. Specific attention is then paid to the fundamental understanding of and challenges facing Li metal anodes. Accordingly, advanced characterization approaches and theoretical computations are introduced to understand the fundamental mechanisms of dendrite growth and parasitic reactions. Recent key progress in Li anode protection is then comprehensively summarized and categorized to generate an overview of the respective superiorities and limitations of the various strategies. Furthermore, this review concludes the remaining obstacles and potential research directions for inspiring the innovation of Li metal anodes and endeavors to accomplish the practical application of next-generation Li-based batteries. LESS      Full article

The feasibility of the commercialization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries is troubled by sluggish redox conversion kinetics and the shuttle effect of polysulfides. Herein, a zeolitic imidazolate framework derived amorphous CoP combined with carbon nanotubes conductive network composites (aCoP@CNTs) has been synthesized as an effective dual-electrocatalyst for accelerating the redox kinetics of polysulfides to prolong the lifespan of Li-S batteries. Compared with crystalline CoP, unsaturated Co atoms of aCoP@CNTs exhibit stronger chemical adsorption capacity for polysulfides and serve as catalytic centers to accelerate the conversion from soluble polysulfides to solid-state lithium sulfide. Meanwhile, the 3D porous conductive network not only facilitates ion/electron transportation but also forms a physical barrier to limit the migration of polysulfides. Benefiting from the above preponderances, the batteries with aCoP@CNTs modified interlayer exhibited excellent cycle stability (initial discharge capacity of 1227.9 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C), rate performance (795.9 mAh g^-1 at 2.5 C), long-term cycle reliability (decay rate of 0.049% per cycle at 1 C over 1000 cycles), and superior high-loading performance (high initial discharge capacity of 886 mAh g^-1 and 753.6 mAh g^-1 at 1 C under high S loading of 3 mg cm^-2 and 4 mg cm^-2). LESS      Full article

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and capacitors (SICs) have been drawing considerable interest in recent years and are considered two of the most promising candidates for next-generation battery technologies in the energy storage industry. Therefore, it is essential to explore feasible strategies to increase the energy density and cycling lifespan of these technologies for their future commercialization. However, relatively low Coulombic efficiency severely limits the energy density of sodium-ion full cells, particularly in the initial cycle, which gradually decreases the number of recyclable ions. Presodiation techniques are regarded as effective approaches to counteract the irreversible capacity in the initial cycle and boost the energy density of SIBs and SICs. Their cyclic stability can also be enhanced by the slow release of supplemental sodium and high-content recyclable ions during cycling. In this review, a general understanding of the sodium-ion loss pathways and presodiation process towards full cells with high Coulombic efficiency is summarized. From the perspectives of safety, operability and efficiency, the merits and drawbacks of various presodiation techniques are evaluated. This review attempts to provide a fundamental understanding of presodiation principles and strategies to promote the industrial development of SIBs and SICs. LESS      Full article

The demand for cryogenic applications has resulted in higher requirements for the low-temperature performance of energy storage systems. Lithium-metal batteries are the most promising energy storage systems. Lithium-metal anodes have the merits of high capacity and low potential. However, at low temperatures, especially sub-zero, the formation of lithium dendrites seriously hinders their applications. Herein, distinct from the traditional strategies of separating lithium metal from oxygen substances, we propose a new strategy to suppress dendrites by exposing lithium metal to air for short periods to generate a controlled oxidative protective layer in situ that is compact, homogeneous and mainly composed of Li₃N, Li₂O, LiOH and Li₂CO₃. Symmetrical and full cells are assembled. The air-pretreated Li metal symmetrical cell exhibits an excellent lifespan of up to 4500 h (1 mA cm^-2) at 30 °C and also shows a smaller voltage polarization of 20 mV at 1.0 mA cm^-2 at -20 °C. Importantly, the full cell using the air-pretreated Li metal as an anode and NCM811 as a cathode can charge-discharge normally at -20 and -40 °C. This work provides an efficient and facile approach for developing superior lithium-metal batteries for future utilization at a wide range of temperatures. LESS      Full article

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and ceramic fuel cells (CFCs) are important for energy storage and conversion technologies and their materials are central to developing advanced applications. Although there are many crosslinking research activities, e.g., through materials and some common scientific fundamentals employed for both LIB and CFCs, crosslinking scientific aspects to achieve a comprehensive understanding are missing. There is a lack of such a review to promote and guide further research and development in the crosslinking of LIBs and CFCs. Herein, we review the existing application of LIB materials in CFCs to discover the scientific advances of lithium-ion and proton transport cooperation and identify the new directions of Li-CFCs in the future. This review is the first to propose CFC advances, especially at low temperatures (300-600 °C) by applying LIB materials to practical devices and highlight the material properties and new device functions with enhanced performance, as well as the scientific mechanisms and principles. Furthermore, we seek to deepen the scientific understanding of materials science, ion transport mechanisms and semiconductor electrochemistry to benefit both the battery and fuel cell fields. LESS      Full article