Flexible freestanding MoS₂-based composite paper for energy conversion and storage

• Florian Zoller,
• Jan Luxa,
• Thomas Bein,
• Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing,
• Daniel Bouša and
• Zdeněk Sofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1488–1496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.147

• potential was even lower (approximately −0.1 V vs RHE) after treatment with n-butyllithium, suggesting the introduction of new active sites. Finally, a potential use in lithium ion batteries (LIB) was examined. Our material can be used directly without any binder, additive carbon or copper current collector

• devices where high flexibility and mechanical strength are desired. Keywords: flexible composites; hydrogen evolution reaction (HER); lithium ion batteries (LIBs); molybdenum disulfide; nanoarchitectonics; supercapacitors; Introduction The world’s growing population has a nearly ever-increasing demand

• , energy storage and conversion continues to be an important and urgent issue [1][2]. Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are one of the most promising energy storage devices, combining high energy density and extremely low self-discharge. Nevertheless, in order to fulfill the (prospective) requirements and to

Growth of lithium hydride thin films from solutions: Towards solution atomic layer deposition of lithiated films

• Ivan Kundrata,
• Karol Fröhlich,
• Lubomír Vančo,
• Matej Mičušík and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1443–1451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.142

• , Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 41 Bratislava, Slovakia Saint Petersburg State University, Institute of Chemistry, Universitetskii pr. 26, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia 10.3762/bjnano.10.142 Abstract Lithiated thin films are necessary for the fabrication of novel solid-state batteries, including the electrodes and

• correspondingly. Rechargeable, and if possible recyclable, batteries are versatile power sources for virtually all mobile devices. The advent of pocket hand-held devices places even stricter demands on the safety of rechargeable batteries. Although increased safety can be achieved using sophisticated and reliable

• charge-controller circuits, inherent safety is still desirable. Since the hazardous components in lithium-ion batteries are organic solvents used as electrolyte, their exclusion would greatly improve the inherent safety of lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries that are already in use, such as the

Porous N- and S-doped carbon–carbon composite electrodes by soft-templating for redox flow batteries

• Maike Schnucklake,
• László Eifert,
• Jonathan Schneider,
• Roswitha Zeis and
• Christina Roth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1131–1139, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.113

• (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The N- and S-doped carbon electrodes show promising activity for the positive side reaction and could be seen as a significant advance in the design of carbon felt electrodes for use in redox flow batteries. Keywords: N- and S-doped carbon

• ; porous electrode; redox flow battery; soft-templating approach; vanadium; Introduction In recent years, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have attracted significant attention as a promising large-scale system for storing excess energy from renewable sources like wind or solar energy [1][2][3]. The

• application in RFB batteries this could be a positive asset as this feature might generate a better contact between electrode and bipolar plate and reduce electrical resistances. All felts were covered with a visible black glossy layer. Structural characterizations A scanning electron microscope (SmartSEM

Glucose-derived carbon materials with tailored properties as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Rafael Gomes Morais,
• Natalia Rey-Raap,
• José Luís Figueiredo and
• Manuel Fernando Ribeiro Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1089–1102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.109

• engines, as they are able to function as long as there is fuel, and for batteries, as they have similar characteristics under load conditions [1]. The performance of a fuel cell is mainly controlled by the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) that takes place at the cathode [2], specifically by the

Concurrent nanoscale surface etching and SnO₂ loading of carbon fibers for vanadium ion redox enhancement

• Jun Maruyama,
• Shohei Maruyama,
• Tomoko Fukuhara,
• Toru Nagaoka and
• Kei Hanafusa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 985–992, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.99

• redox reactions of electrolyte ions are required to produce efficient and low-cost redox flow batteries (RFBs). Carbon-fiber electrodes are widely used in various types of RFBs and surface oxidation is commonly performed to enhance the redox reactions, although it is not necessarily efficient. Quite

• recently, a technique for nanoscale and uniform surface etching of the carbon fiber surface was developed and a significant enhancement of the negative electrode reaction of vanadium redox flow batteries was attained, although the enhancement was limited to the positive electrode reaction. In this study

• overpotential and a stable cycling performance. A facile and efficient technique based on the nanoscale processing of the carbon fiber surface was presented to substantially enhance the activity for the redox reactions in redox flow batteries. Keywords: carbon fiber; electrode reactions; metal-oxide

In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• of water in the electrolyte. In our previous attempt [25] a closed AFM cell was exposed to atmosphere during imaging and discharge with oxygen saturated solvent precluding any impedance spectroscopy and cell recharge studies. Lang et al. discussed in situ AFM studies of lithium/sulfur [26] batteries

• prior AFM studies [23][24] that have used oxygen saturated solvents. Figure 2 shows Nyquist plots prior to oxygenation, after oxygenation and after the first discharge/recharge process for Li–O2 batteries prepared from electrolytes containing <20 ppm (A) and ≈2500 ppm (B). The plot for ≈4600 ppm water

An efficient electrode material for high performance solid-state hybrid supercapacitors based on a Cu/CuO/porous carbon nanofiber/TiO₂ hybrid composite

• Mamta Sham Lal,
• Thirugnanam Lavanya and
• Sundara Ramaprabhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 781–793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.78

• seconds), long cycle life (>105), wide working potential and broad temperature range of operation [1][2]. The higher energy density and power density of supercapacitors are an important advantage over conventional dielectric capacitors and batteries. Supercapacitors can combine the advantages of batteries

Trapping polysulfide on two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for Li–S batteries through phase selection with optimized binding

• Sha Dong,
• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 774–780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.77

• batteries has been demonstrated as an effective way to overcome the shuttle effect and enhance the cycling stability. In this work, the anchoring effects of 2H-MoS2 and 1T'-MoS2 monolayers for Li–S batteries were investigated by using density functional theory calculations. It was found that the binding

• batteries. Keywords: Li–S batteries; molybdenum disulfide; phase transformation; Introduction To satisfy the increasing demand for high-capacity energy storage systems, rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have attracted much attention in recent years due to a high theoretical specific energy

• density of 2567 Wh/kg, a high theoretical capacity of 1672 mAh/g, low cost, non-toxicity, and the abundance of sulfur [1]. The energy density of a Li–S battery is six times higher than that of current commercially used lithium-ion batteries (387 Wh/kg) [2][3][4][5]. Typically, a rechargeable Li–S battery

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• - and microstructures for energy conversion: materials and devices” provides insights into the latest developments in the related fields. Besides a focus on solar-cell concepts [1][2][3][4][5], it also addresses light harvesting by solar fuel production [6][7], and energy storage by batteries [8

On the transformation of “zincone”-like into porous ZnO thin films from sub-saturated plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition

• Alberto Perrotta,
• Julian Pilz,
• Stefan Pachmajer,
• Antonella Milella and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 746–759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.74

• oxides in photocatalysis [30][33] and as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries [12][18], or for protective and passivating layers [28][32][35]. In this contribution, an alternative method was adopted for the formation of Zn-alkoxide layers. While ALD is known to deliver pure dense ZnO, applied in many

Review of time-resolved non-contact electrostatic force microscopy techniques with applications to ionic transport measurements

• Aaron Mascaro,
• Yoichi Miyahara,
• Tyler Enright,
• Omur E. Dagdeviren and
• Peter Grütter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 617–633, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.62

• period of the cantilever and compare and contrast it with those previously established. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; electrostatic force microscopy; ionic transport; lithium ion batteries; nanotechnology; Introduction Since the inception of the atomic force microscope (AFM) a variety of

A porous 3D-RGO@MWCNT hybrid material as Li–S battery cathode

• Yongguang Zhang,
• Jun Ren,
• Yan Zhao,
• Taizhe Tan,
• Fuxing Yin and
• Yichao Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.52

• structure. When used in Li–S batteries, the 3D porous lattice matrix not only accommodates a high content of sulfur, but also induces a confinement effect towards polysulfide, and thereby reduces the “shuttle effect”. The as-prepared S-3D-RGO@MWCNT composite delivers an initial specific capacity of 1102

• nanotubes; energy storage and conversion; Li–S batteries; nanocomposites; Introduction Li–S batteries are notable for their high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mAh·g−1) and energy density (2600 Wh·kg−1). Sulfur is an abundant element, enabling Li–S batteries to be highly competitive among the various

• battery technologies. The actual application of Li–S batteries, however, is hindered by several challenges, i.e., i) the poor conductivity of sulfur and ii) the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides (Li2Sx, 4 < x ≤ 8) [1][2][3][4]. To achieve a high specific capacity, a sulfur cathode with high electrical

Widening of the electroactivity potential range by composite formation – capacitive properties of TiO₂/BiVO₄/PEDOT:PSS electrodes in contact with an aqueous electrolyte

• Konrad Trzciński,
• Mariusz Szkoda,
• Andrzej P. Nowak,
• Marcin Łapiński and
• Anna Lisowska-Oleksiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 483–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.49

• currently important challenges. There are many ways for energy storage, among them, electrical, chemical and electrochemical storage technologies are of great interest [1][2]. Among the various energy storage devices, such as batteries [3] and supercapacitors [4], supercapacitors are the most promising

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• ], fuel cells [20], lithium batteries [21][22][23][24][25][26], field-emission devices [27], data storage devices [28], gaso- and electrochromic displays [29][30], and nonlinear optical devices [31]. Even in the field of medical engineering, such structures are promising candidates for improving the

Sub-wavelength waveguide properties of 1D and surface-functionalized SnO₂ nanostructures of various morphologies

• Venkataramana Bonu,
• Binaya Kumar Sahu,
• Arindam Das,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Sandip Dhara and
• Harish C. Barshilia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 379–388, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.37

• commercial application as a gas sensor, transparent conducting electrodes, and catalyst [13][14][15]. SnO2 NSs have been used in several other areas such as sub-wavelength waveguide sensors [4], microelectronics [6], Li-ion batteries [16], and lubricants [17]. Oxygen vacancy related defects in SnO2

A Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals network for high-performance supercapacitors synthesized by immersing Ni nanofoam in water

• Donghui Zheng,
• Man Li,
• Yongyan Li,
• Chunling Qin,
• Yichao Wang and
• Zhifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 281–293, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.27

• Nowadays, environmental contamination and energy crisis require new energy storage devices. This leads to a considerable interest in the research of supercapacitors because of their higher power density, longer cycling stability and faster charge/discharge periods compared to batteries [1][2][3][4

Wet chemistry route for the decoration of carbon nanotubes with iron oxide nanoparticles for gas sensing

• Hussam M. Elnabawy,
• Juan Casanova-Chafer,
• Badawi Anis,
• Mostafa Fedawy,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Ahmed S. G. Khalil,
• Eduard Llobet and
• Xavier Vilanova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 105–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.10

• sensors can be intrinsically low-power devices make them very attractive for their integration in ubiquitous, unattended mobile sensing nodes running on small batteries or on energy harvested from their environment [4]. Among the wide range of functionalization strategies that can be envisaged for

Improved catalytic combustion of methane using CuO nanobelts with predominantly (001) surfaces

• Qingquan Kong,
• Yichun Yin,
• Bing Xue,
• Yonggang Jin,
• Wei Feng,
• Zhi-Gang Chen,
• Shi Su and
• Chenghua Sun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2526–2532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.235

• shows high reactivity due to the high ratio of lowly coordinated oxygen – a feature that has been employed for gas sensing and Li-ion batteries [21]. Now we turn to the experimental validation, starting with the synthesis of CuO nanowires (NWs) and CuO nanobelts (NBs) comprised of predominantly (001

Hydrothermal-derived carbon as a stabilizing matrix for improved cycling performance of silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion full cells

• Mirco Ruttert,
• Florian Holtstiege,
• Jessica Hüsker,
• Markus Börner,
• Martin Winter and
• Tobias Placke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2381–2395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.223

• carbon and Si, i.e., an improved specific/volumetric capacity and capacity retention compared to the single materials when applied as a negative electrode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). This work focuses on the influence of the Si content (up to 20 wt %) on the electrochemical performance, on the

• full cells. While prelithiation is able to remarkably enhance the initial capacity of the full cell by ≈18 mAh g−1, this effect diminishes with continued cycling and only a slightly enhanced capacity of ≈5 mAh g−1 is maintained after 150 cycles. Keywords: LIB full cell; lithium-ion batteries

• ; prelithiation; silicon/carbon composite; solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI); Introduction Since their market launch in 1991, the energy density of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has increased steadily. However, further improvements in terms of power density and energy density are essential to meet the rising

Metal-free catalysis based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials: a photoelectron spectroscopy point of view

• Mattia Scardamaglia and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2015–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.191

• splitting of water to molecular hydrogen via hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER, respectively) are fundamental working mechanisms at the cathode of fuel cells, metal–air batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells [2]. However, the current working catalysts are based on expensive metals, such

• ]. In 2015, Zhang and co-workers synthesized a carbon foam co-doped with nitrogen and phosphorous, which was the first bifunctional electrocatalyst for both ORR and OER [49] for high-performance rechargeable zinc-air batteries. The same material was used by Xue et al. as a counter electrode in dye

• -sensitized solar cells [67]. A high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries was obtained using graphene co-doped with nitrogen and fluorine, which was prepared by a hydrothermal reaction of an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide with trimethylamine trihydrofluoride [68]. In nitrogen-doped

Synthesis of carbon nanowalls from a single-source metal-organic precursor

• André Giese,
• Sebastian Schipporeit,
• Volker Buck and
• Nicolas Wöhrl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1895–1905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.181

• batteries, electrochemical sensors or fuel cells [3][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Due to the high aspect ratio and the sharp top edges of the CNWs, a possible application could also be seen as electron field emitters [16]. Depending on the chosen deposition parameters, CNWs can have superhydrophobic or

Synthesis of rare-earth metal and rare-earth metal-fluoride nanoparticles in ionic liquids and propylene carbonate

• Marvin Siebels,
• Lukas Mai,
• Laura Schmolke,
• Kai Schütte,
• Juri Barthel,
• Junpei Yue,
• Jörg Thomas,
• Bernd M. Smarsly,
• Anjana Devi,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1881–1894, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.180

• ]. For EuF3, no oxygen peak was seen in the XPS analysis. Therefore, SAED and PXRD data in combination with HR-XPS exclude any contamination of the REF3-NPs with metal(III) oxides. Metal fluorides are used, for example, as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries [6]. The lithium-ion battery is one of

• the most important rechargeable energy storage devices in modern electrical appliances such as mobile phones and laptops, but also in electric and hybrid vehicles [51]. The increasing performance of modern lithium-ion batteries is of great interest in current research [52][53][54]. Grey et al. showed

• that the use of FeF2 nanoparticles as electrode material leads to a significant increase in the performance of the batteries compared to the macroscopic LiFeF3 [55]. Therefore, we investigated the electrochemical properties of ErF3-NPs by galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles (Figure 5). Until now

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles as sulfur encapsulator for high-performance lithium/sulfur batteries

• Yan Zhao,
• Zhengjun Liu,
• Liancheng Sun,
• Yongguang Zhang,
• Yuting Feng,
• Xin Wang,
• Indira Kurmanbayeva and
• Zhumabay Bakenov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1677–1685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.159

• , Heyuan, Guangdong Province, China International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, China Institute of Batteries LLC, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan 10.3762/bjnano.9.159 Abstract Nitrogen-doped

• carbon nanotubes coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@NCNT) were prepared via a sol–gel route as sulfur encapsulator for lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries. The electrochemical properties of the S/ZnO@NCNT composite cathode were evaluated in Li/S batteries. It delivered an initial capacity of 1032

• providing pathways for ion and electron transport. The as-prepared S/ZnO@NCNT composite is a promising cathode material for Li/S batteries. Keywords: batteries; nanocomposites; sol–gel processes; sulfur; zinc oxide (ZnO); Introduction Due to its high theoretical specific capacity of 1672 mAh·g−1 and

Nanoscale electrochemical response of lithium-ion cathodes: a combined study using C-AFM and SIMS

• Jonathan Op de Beeck,
• Nouha Labyedh,
• Alfonso Sepúlveda,
• Valentina Spampinato,
• Alexis Franquet,
• Thierry Conard,
• Philippe M. Vereecken,
• Wilfried Vandervorst and
• Umberto Celano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1623–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.154

• indicated. Keywords: all-solid-state microbatteries (ASB); conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM); Li-ion kinetics; secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS); 3D thin-film batteries; Findings Conventional Li-ion battery technology is undergoing continuous improvements in order to fulfil the increasing

• demands from modern society on autonomous electronics, such as portable devices, internet-of-things applications and implants [1]. A multitude of studies have already indicated that nanotechnology, nanostructured designs and nanocomposite materials will play an important role for future Li-ion batteries

• locally accumulate and deplete Li ions on/below the surface thus representing an interesting starting point towards the C-AFM-based analysis of electrochemical properties in mixed ionic–electronic conductors. These concepts can be extended to the other constituents of Li-ion batteries, such as the anode

Correlative electrochemical strain and scanning electron microscopy for local characterization of the solid state electrolyte Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃

• Nino Schön,
• Deniz Cihan Gunduz,
• Shicheng Yu,
• Hermann Tempel,
• Roland Schierholz and
• Florian Hausen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1564–1572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.148

• electrolytes (SSE); Introduction Solid state electrolytes (SSE) of the NASICON-type exhibit a high ionic conductivity and are in this respect becoming comparable to conventional organic electrolytes commonly used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) [1][2][3][4][5]. SSEs have gained much interest in recent years