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Organic anodes have emerged as a promising energy storage medium in proton ion batteries (PrIBs) due to their ability to reversibly accommodate non‐metallic proton ions. Nevertheless, the currently available organic electrodes often encounter dissolution issues, leading to a decrease in long‐cycle stability. In addition, the inherent potential of the organic anode is generally relatively high, resulting in low cell voltage of assembled PrIBs (<1.0 V). To address these challenges, a novel long‐period stable, low redox potential biphenylzine derivative, [2,2′‐biphenazine]‐7,7′‐tetraol (BPZT) is explored, from the perspective of molecular symmetry and solubility, in conjunction with the effect of the molecular frontier orbital energy levels on its redox potential. Specifically, BPZT exhibited a low potential of 0.29 V (vs SHE) and is virtually insoluble in 2 m H2SO4 electrolyte during cycling. When paired with MnO2@GF or PbO2 cathodes, the resulting PrIBs achieve cell voltages of 1.07 V or 1.44 V, respectively, and maintain a high capacity retention of 90% over 20000 cycles. Additionally, these full batteries can operate stably at a high mass loading of 10 mgBPZT cm−2, highlighting their potential toward long‐term energy storage applications. Two phenazine derivatives are designed to reversibly accommodate protons. Experimental results show that structural symmetric [2,2′‐biphenazine]‐7,7′‐tetraol (BPZT) outperforms 2,3‐dihydrohyphenazine. BPZT exhibits a low potential of 0.29 V (vs SHE) with negligible dissolution during cycling. When paired with MnO2@GF or PbO2 cathodes, full batteries achieve high voltages of 1.07 V or 1.44 V, and maintain a high capacity retention over 20 000 cycles.

Silicon anodes have been extensively studied as a potential alternative to graphite ones for Li-ion batteries. However, their commercial application is limited by the issues of the poor structural and interfacial stability. In this regard, one of the key strategies for fully exploiting the capacity potential of Si-based anodes is to design robust conductive binder networks. Although the amount of binder in the electrode is small, it is, however, considered as a critical component of Si-based anodes for Li-ion batteries. In this review, a brief summary is given from the structural and functional aspects of the existing binders for Si anodes. In particular, three-dimensional and multifunctional polymeric binders with excellent electrical conductivity, flexibility, and adhesion prepared by chemical bonding, electrostatic and coordination interactions have become the focus of research, and are expected to accelerate the practical application of silicon anodes. Lastly, some suggestions for the future development of Si anodic binders are put forward.

Currently, a big problem for exploring K-ion half/full batteries is how to bring them with both high specific capacity and long cycling stability simultaneously, in terms of their intrinsically sluggish kinetics of K⁺ with larger radius than that of Li⁺, which often causes huge volume change over the electrochemical reaction. Herein, we report the exploration of high-performance K-ion half/full batteries with superb rate capability and cycle stability based on B-doped porous carbons with increased active sites and improved conductivity. The as-assembled K-ion half cell exhibits an excellent rate capability of 428 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and a high reversible specific capacity of 330 mA h g−1 with 120% specific capacity retention after 2,000 cycles at 2,000 mA g−1, which is state of the art among those based on carbon materials. Moreover, the as-constructed full cell delivers 98% specific capacity retention over 750 cycles at 500 mA g−1, which is superior to most of the analogs based on carbon materials that have been reported thus far, underscoring their potential applications in advanced energy storage.

HighlightsThe Zn/MnO2 cell with inorganic colloidal electrolyte demonstrates unprecedented durability over 1000 cycles.For the cathode, the presence of the protective film can inhibit the dissolution of manganese element and the formation of irreversible by-products.For the anode, it can reduce the corrosion and de-solvation energy, inhibit the growth of dendrite and irreversible by-products.Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) is a promising electrical energy storage candidate due to its eco-friendliness, low cost, and intrinsic safety, but on the cathode the element dissolution and the formation of irreversible products, and on the anode the growth of dendrite as well as irreversible products hinder its practical application. Herein, we propose a new type of the inorganic highly concentrated colloidal electrolytes (HCCE) for ZIBs promoting simultaneous robust protection of both cathode/anode leading to an effective suppression of element dissolution, dendrite, and irreversible products growth. The new HCCE has high Zn2+ ion transference number (0.64) endowed by the limitation of SO42−, the competitive ion conductivity (1.1 × 10–2 S cm−1) and Zn2+ ion diffusion enabled by the uniform pore distribution (3.6 nm) and the limited free water. The Zn/HCCE/α-MnO2 cells exhibit high durability under both high and low current densities, which is almost 100% capacity retention at 200 mA g−1 after 400 cycles (290 mAh g−1) and 89% capacity retention under 500 mA g−1 after 1000 cycles (212 mAh g−1). Considering material sustainability and batteries’ high performances, the colloidal electrolyte may provide a feasible substitute beyond the liquid and all-solid-state electrolyte of ZIBs.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) of Ni-MOF, Co-MOF, and Ni/Co-MOF were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method using Trimesic acid as structure directing linker. The physico-chemical properties of the synthesized MOFs were characterized by P-XRD (powder X-ray diffraction), FT-IR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), HR-TEM (high-resolution transmission tlectron microscope) and BET (Brunner Emmett Teller) surface area techniques. The supercapacitance performance of these MOFs were studied by electroanalytical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Amongst the MOFs investigated, Ni/Co-MOF exhibited highest specific capacitance (Cs) of 2041 F g−1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1 and 980 F g−1 at a current density of 2.5 A g−1. Ni/Co-MOFs delivered a maximum energy density (ED) of 55.7 W h Kg−1 at a corresponding power density (PD) of 1 K W kg−1 and maximum PD of 9.8 K W kg−1 at an ED of 41.6 W h Kg−1. An outstanding supercapacitance performance with superior columbic efficiency of 98.4% and capacitive retention of 73% after 5000 cycles marks this material as potential candidate for supercapacitors (SCs). A comparative electrochemical study of these MOFs were made in three electrode system, further electrochemical performance was corelated with their physico-chemical properties.

Fe 3 O 4 is a promising high-capacity anode material for lithium ion batteries, but challenges including short cycle life and low rate capability hinder its widespread implementation. In this work, a well-defined tubular structure constructed by carbon-coated Fe 3 O 4 has been successfully fabricated with hierarchically porous structure, high surface area, and suitable thickness of carbon layer. Such purposely designed hybrid nanostructures have an enhanced electronic/ionic conductivity, stable electrode/electrolyte interface, and physical buffering effect arising from the nanoscale combination of carbon with Fe 3 O 4 , as well as the hollow, aligned and hierarchically porous architectures. When used as an anode material for a lithium-ion half cell, the carbon-coated hierarchical Fe 3 O 4 nanotubes showed excellent cycling performance with a specific capacity of 1,020 mAh·g −1 at 200 mA·g −1 after 150 cycles, a capacity retention of ca. 103%. Even at a higher current density of 1,000 mA·g −1 , a capacity of 840 mAh·g −1 is retained after 300 cycles with no capacity loss. In particular, a superior rate capability can be obtained with a stable capacity of 355 mAh·g −1 at 8,000 mA·g −1 . The encouraging results indicate that hierarchically tubular hybrid nanostructures can have important implications for the development of high-rate electrodes for future rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs).

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) are increasingly regarded as promising alternatives to lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) due to their abundant sodium resources, low cost, and similar electrochemical behavior. However, traditional cathode materials face issues such as poor cycling stability and low energy density, which severely limit the development prospects of SIBs. Herein, a high‐entropy engineering strategy is introduced to improve O3‐type binary transition metal oxides. Specifically, the NaNi0.4Mn0.175Fe0.1Ti0.125Sn0.1Li0.05Sb0.05O2 material with precise Ti4+ control demonstrates the best electrochemical performance. It delivers a discharge capacity of 73.4 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 20C (2.4 A g−1), and retains 83.3% of its capacity after 300 cycles at 1C. A series of electrochemical in/ex situ X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy characterizations demonstrate the effectiveness of the high‐entropy strategy in enhancing the structural stability of cathode materials. These results indicate that the stability of high‐entropy materials is determined by the synergistic effects of configurational entropy and element doping. Overall, this work provides valuable insights into the rational design of high‐performance cathode materials, offering a promising pathway for the advancement of SIBs technology. The disordered coordination environment in transition metals layer in high‐entropy oxides promotes the charge delocalization, enhancing the structural stability of the material and significantly improving its cycling stability.

With the rapid economic growth and the deepening awareness of sustainable development, the demand for green and efficient energy storage equipment increases. As a promising energy storage and conversion device, zinc-air batteries (ZABs) have the advantages of high theoretical specific energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, the efficiency of ZABs is closely related to the electrocatalytic capacity of the air electrode due to its sluggish kinetics for oxygen reduction and evolution reaction (ORR/OER). Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient catalysts to promote the reaction rate. Recently, cobalt-based materials have become a research hotspot for oxygen electrocatalysts owing to their rich natural content, high catalytic activity, and stability. In this review, the mechanisms of the OER/ORR reaction process, the catalyst’s performance characterization, and the various combination methods with the current collector are systematically introduced and analyzed. Further, a broad overview of cobalt-based materials used as electrocatalysts for ZABs is presented, including cobalt-based perovskite, cobalt-nitrogen-carbon (Co−N−C) materials, cobalt oxides, cobalt-containing composite oxides, and cobalt sulfides/phosphides. Finally, various strategies for developing efficient electrocatalysts for ZABs are summarized, highlighting the challenges and future perspectives in designing novel catalysts.

The popularly reported energy storage mechanisms of potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are based on alloy-, de-intercalation-, and conversion-type processes, which inevitably lead to structural damage of the electrodes caused by intercalation/de-intercalation of K⁺ with a relatively large radius, which is accompanied by poor cycle stabilities. Here, we report the exploration of robust high-temperature PIBs enabled by a carboxyl functional group energy storage mechanism, which is based on an example of p-phthalic acid (PTA) with two carboxyl functional groups as the redox centers. In such a case, the intercalation/de-intercalation of K⁺ can be performed via surface reactions with relieved volume change, thus favoring excellent cycle stability for PIBs against high temperatures. As proof of concept, at the fixed working temperature of 62.5 °C, the initial discharge and charge specific capacities of the PTA electrode are ∼660 and 165 mA·h·g−1, respectively, at a current density of 100 mA·g−1, with 86% specific capacity retention after 160 cycles. Meanwhile, it delivers 81.5% specific capacity retention after 390 cycles under a high current density of 500 mA·g−1. The cycle stabilities achieved under both low and high current densities are the best among those of high-temperature PIBs reported previously.

To promote sustainable development and reduce fossil fuel consumption, there is a growing demand for high-performance, cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly batteries for large-scale energy storage systems. Among the emerging technologies, zinc-air batteries (ZABs) have attracted significant interest. By integrating the principles of traditional zinc-ion batteries and fuel cells, ZABs offer remarkably high theoretical energy density at lower production cost compared to the current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the critical challenge remains in developing high-performance zinc anode. Herein, this review provides a comprehensive analysis of the current status and advancements in zinc anodes for rechargeable aqueous ZABs. We begin by highlighting the major challenges and underlying mechanisms associated with zinc anodes including issues such as uneven zinc deposition, dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reaction. Then, this review discusses the recent advancements in zinc anode modifications, focusing on strategies such as alloying, surface porosity and zincophilicity. By reviewing the latest research, we also identify existing gaps and pose critical questions that need further exploration to push the field forward. The goal of this review is to inspire new research directions and promote the development of more efficient zinc anodes.