Unraveling the intercorrelation between pseudo-graphitic phase and Li+/Na+ migration behavior in semicoke-based carbon anodes.

Microstructural engineering is regarded as a promising option for fabricating high-performance carbon anodes. Hence, a facile solvothermal-assisted low-temperature calcination strategy was employed to modulate the microstructure of semicoke-derived carbon anodes. Owing to the effective pseudo-graphite phase modulation, the modified carbon anode exhibited a significant increase in capacity, cycling stability and ion kinetics in both lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries. Kinetic analysis and in-situ X-ray diffraction confirmed the "adsorption and intercalation" energy storage mechanism of the obtained carbon electrodes. In addition, by investigating the energy storage mechanism, we found that increasing the pseudo-graphite phase proportion played different roles in lithium and sodium ions storage. For lithium-ion storage, the pseudo-graphitic phase preferentially promotes lithium-ion transport kinetics. Conversely, during sodium-ion storage, this particular structure markedly augments the embedding capacity of sodium. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that different patterns of variation in the activation energy with the carbon layer spacing of lithium/sodium intercalation compounds lead to differences in performance enhancement. This study not only offers a low-cost approach for preparing carbon anodes enriched with a pseudo-graphitic phase, but also provides new insight into the discrepancy between lithium ion and sodium ion storage.

Double Core-Shell Si@C@SiO2 for Anode Material of Lithium-Ion Batteries with Excellent Cycling Stability.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) composed of silicon (Si) anodes suffer from severe capacity decay because of the volume expansion deriving from the formation of Li15 Si4 alloy. In this study, we prepared a double core-shell Si@C@SiO2 nanostructure by the modified Stöber method. In the process of Si lithiation, the carbon layer alleviates the large pressure slightly then the silica shell restricts the lithiation degree of Si. The combination of carbon interlayer and silica shell guarantees structural integrity and avoids further decay of capacity because of the formation of stable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) films. The resultant Si@C@SiO2 presents remarkable cycling stability with capacity decay of averagely 0.03 % per cycle over 305 cycles at 200 mA g-1 , an improvement on Si@C (0.22 %) by more than a factor of 7. This encouraging result demonstrates that the designation involved in this work is effective for mitigating the capacity decay of Si-based anodes for LIBs.

An electrochemical DNA sensor based on polyaniline/graphene: high sensitivity to DNA sequences in a wide range.

A label-free electrochemical DNA sensor was fabricated by deposition of polyaniline and pristine graphene nanosheet (P/G(ratios)) composites in different mass ratios, DNA probe and bovine serum albumin (BSA) layer by layer on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to monitor every step of fabrication of P/G(ratio)-based DNA sensors and to evaluate the detection results in terms of the hybridization of complementary DNA, mutant DNA and non-complementary DNA. The results illustrate that the P/G(ratio)-based DNA sensor could highly efficiently detect complementary DNA from 0.01 pm to 1 µm and discriminate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In the process of detection, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), resulting from hybridization of a DNA probe, escaping from or remaining on the sensor surface, was monitored by changing the ratio of polyaniline (PANI) to graphene, which was decided by the competition between the electrostatic interaction and Brownian motion.

Preparation of ordered mesoporous carbons with an intergrown p6mm and cubic Fd3m pore structure using a copolymer as a template.

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with an intergrown two-dimensional p6mm and three-dimensional Fd3m pore structure have been prepared by the carbonization of reverse copolymer-phenolic resin composites, which were themselves formed by a soft-template method by simply adjusting the ratios of ethanol and hexane. The microstructure of the OMCs was analyzed by small-angle X-ray scattering, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed the structure of the OMCs obtained have the mesophase transition from p6mm to the intergrowth of p6mm/Fd3m and finally to Fd3m as the ratio of ethanol to hexane is changed.

Preparation and electrochemical performance of heteroatom-enriched electrospun carbon nanofibers from melamine formaldehyde resin.

Melamine formaldehyde resin was used to prepare heteroatom-enriched carbon nanofibers by electrospinning for the first time. The melamine formaldehyde resin-based carbon fibers without any activation treatment showed a moderate specific surface area ranging from 130 to 479 m2/g and rich surface functionalities (2.56-5.34 wt.% nitrogen and 10.39-11.2 9 wt.% oxygen). Both the specific surface area and surface functionality greatly depended on the carbonization temperature. The capacitive performance was evaluated in 6M KOH aqueous solution. The electrochemically active surface functionalities played an important role in improving the surface capacitance of the electrodes. The sample carbonized at 600°C showed the highest specific surface capacitance of 1.4 F/m2, which was attributed to the most active functionalities (10.69 wt.% of N and O). In addition, the sample carbonized at 750°C exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 206 F/g.

Hybridization of graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes at the liquid/air interface.

The liquid/air interface provides an ideal platform for the uniform hybridization of multi-components in a thin graphene-based membrane through self-assembly. This study presents the first example for such a hybrid membrane which combines chemically active GO layers with highly conductive carbon nanotubes.