ABSTRACT
Mn-based rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are highly promising because of their high operating voltages, attractive energy densities, and eco-friendliness. However, the electrochemical performances of Mn-based cathodes usually suffer from their serious structure transformation upon charge/discharge cycling. Herein, we report a layered sodium-ion/crystal water co-intercalated Birnessite cathode with the formula of Na0.55Mn2O4·0.57H2O (NMOH) for high-performance aqueous ZIBs. A displacement/intercalation electrochemical mechanism was confirmed in the Mn-based cathode for the first time. Na+ and crystal water enlarge the interlayer distance to enhance the insertion of Zn2+, and some sodium ions are replaced with Zn2+ in the first cycle to further stabilize the layered structure for subsequent reversible Zn2+/H+ insertion/extraction, resulting in exceptional specific capacities and satisfactory structural stabilities. Additionally, a pseudo-capacitance derived from the surface-adsorbed Na+ also contributes to the electrochemical performances. The NMOH cathode not only delivers high reversible capacities of 389.8 and 87.1 mA h g-1 at current densities of 200 and 1500 mA g-1, respectively, but also maintains a good long-cycling performance of 201.6 mA h g-1 at a high current density of 500 mA g-1 after 400 cycles, which makes the NMOH cathode competitive for practical applications.
ABSTRACT
Efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs is always one of the key factors boosting visible light photodegradation efficiency. Till now, there are few reports on the synergistic competitive consumption of photogenerated active species and the synergistic adsorption of organic contaminants to promote the performance of a designed heterojunction. Herein, we design and construct a novel BiOBr/Ag6Si2O7 heterojunction with the dual synergistic effects towards methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO). The dual synergistic effects could avoid the combination of photogenerated h+/e- pairs, improve the adsorption efficiency, and even regulate the photodegradation efficiency. Thus, for an aqueous mixture of MB and MO, the BiOBr/Ag6Si2O7 photocatalyst exhibits largely improved adsorption capacities of the dyes by a multi-layer adsorption mode. Moreover, the photocatalyst could further promote the photodegradation rate of MO while slow that of MB due to the competitive consumption of photogenerated active species, showing a sequential selectivity phenomenon. Thanks to the dual synergistic effects, the adsorption capacity of MO increases 1379% higher than that of neat MO solution, and the photodegradation time decrease from 30 to 12â¯min with a rate constant of 0.22â¯min-1, 38% higher than that of neat MO solution.
ABSTRACT
Self-sacrificial biomass-derived silica is a rising and promising approach to fabricate large metal silicates, which are practical water treatment agents ascribed for easy sedimentation and separation. However, the original biomass architecture is difficult to be maintained and utilized. Furthermore, sufficient ion diffusion pathways need to be created to satisfy massive mass transport in large bulk materials. Herein, a series of metal silicates, including cobalt silicate (CoSiOx), copper silicate, nickel silicate, iron silicate, and magnesium silicate, are synthesized from Indocalamus tessellatus leaf as the biomass-derived silica source and investigated as catalysts in sulfate-radical-based advanced oxidization processes (SR-AOPs) for the first time. Among them, CoSiOx presents an analogical sandwich structure as a leaf-derived template of micron-level size. More importantly, the interior hollow nanotubes assembled by small nanosheets provide numerous pathways for ion diffusion and remarkably promote the mass transport in such large bulk materials. Owing to the combination of the unique structure with the high reactivity of Co (II) toward peroxymonosulfate, CoSiOx exhibits excellent catalytic performance with 0.242 and 0.153â¯min-1 rate constants for the removal of methylene blue and phenol, respectively, which outperforms/is comparable to that of the reported nanomaterials toward organic contaminants in SR-AOPs.
