Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• ) and therefore offers the possibility to fabricate a large variety of graphene–transition metal oxide (TMO) NP hybrids. These hybrid materials are promising alternatives to reduce the drawbacks of using only TMO NPs in various applications, such as anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs

• as a high-performance electrochemical capacitor [108], shows enhanced optical response [109], and represents highly durable electrodes for Li and Na ion batteries [110]. Yang et al. have prepared VO2–graphene architectures by using graphene as a substrate for the in situ growth of VO2 ribbons (Figure

• rechargeable Li batteries [115][116]. Kim et al. have introduced the use of VO2–graphene hybrid materials for the fabrication of thermochromic films for energy saving windows. VO2 crystals have been prepared on graphene and the graphene-supported VO2 is easily transferred to a plastic substrate which enables

Carbon nanotube-wrapped Fe₂O₃ anode with improved performance for lithium-ion batteries

• Guoliang Gao,
• Yan Jin,
• Qun Zeng,
• Deyu Wang and
• Cai Shen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 649–656, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.69

• material of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because they offer high theoretical capacities, and are environmentally friendly and widely available. However, the low electronic conductivity and severe irreversible lithium storage have hindered a practical application. Herein, we employed ethanolamine as

• precursor to prepare Fe2O3/COOH-MWCNT composites through a simple hydrothermal synthesis. When these composites were used as electrode material in lithium-ion batteries, a reversible capacity of 711.2 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 500 mA·g−1 after 400 cycles was obtained. The result indicated that Fe2O3

• /COOH-MWCNT composite is a potential anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Keywords: anode material; carbon nanotubes; hydrothermal synthesis method; lithium-ion batteries; Introduction The depletion of non-renewable energy resources such as coal, petrol and natural gas has led to the urgent need

Role of oxygen in wetting of copper nanoparticles on silicon surfaces at elevated temperature

• Tapas Ghosh and
• Biswarup Satpati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 425–433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.45

• recent years, several CuO nanostructure syntheses and their applications have been reported. Different shaped CuO nanostructures such as nanowires, nanoplatelets, nanorods, and nanoflowers have been employed as the anode material for lithium ion batteries [4][5][6][7], and improved performance has also

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• , Li-ion batteries, sensors, photodynamic cancer therapy or in biomaterials [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Since 1972, when Fujishima and Honda published their seminal work [8], much work has been focused on investigating the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 [9]. Titanium dioxide catalysts proved to be better

Phosphorus-doped silicon nanorod anodes for high power lithium-ion batteries

• Chao Yan,
• Qianru Liu,
• Jianzhi Gao,
• Zhibo Yang and
• Deyan He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 222–228, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.24

• were fabricated on CuO nanorods for application in high power lithium-ion batteries. Since the conductivity of lithiated CuO is significantly better than that of CuO, after the first discharge, the voltage cut-off window was then set to the range covering only the discharge–charge range of Si. Thus

• . Keywords: in situ reduction; lithium-ion battery; silicon anode; silicon nanorods; Introduction As one of the most popular secondary power sources, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in portable personal electronics, electrical vehicles and grid energy storage because of their high energy and

Effect of nanostructured carbon coatings on the electrochemical performance of Li_1.4Ni_0.5Mn_0.5O_2+x-based cathode materials

• Konstantin A. Kurilenko,
• Oleg A. Shlyakhtin,
• Oleg A. Brylev,
• Dmitry I. Petukhov and
• Alexey V. Garshev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1960–1970, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.187

• materials; Li-ion batteries; nanocomposites; nanostructures; Introduction LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2-based electrode materials [1] were proposed as a less expensive alternative to LiCoO2 for high energy density Li-ion batteries containing less toxic elements than cobalt. The reasonable combination of their

In situ formation of reduced graphene oxide structures in ceria by combined sol–gel and solvothermal processing

• Jingxia Yang,
• Johannes Ofner,
• Bernhard Lendl and
• Ulrich Schubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1815–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.174

• batteries) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] or (photo-)catalysts [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The property enhancements are mainly due to the charge transfer between graphene and CeO2. For the preparation of graphene–CeO2 composites external graphene oxide (GO) is usually added to the ceria precursor or pre

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• be fully described only through Ge-nps size. Ge-nps embedded in different dielectric matrices (e.g., SiO2, Si3N4 or HfO2) have been already used for fabrication of high-efficiency photodetectors [15], multilayer memory devices [16] and other applications as solar photoconversion cells [17], batteries

Microwave synthesis of high-quality and uniform 4 nm ZnFe₂O₄ nanocrystals for application in energy storage and nanomagnetics

• Christian Suchomski,
• Ben Breitung,
• Ralf Witte,
• Michael Knapp,
• Sondes Bauer,
• Tilo Baumbach,
• Christian Reitz and
• Torsten Brezesinski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1350–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.126

• galvanostatic charge–discharge tests and ex situ X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, the as-prepared zinc ferrite nanocrystals can be used as a high-capacity anode material for Li-ion batteries, showing little capacity fade – after activation – over hundreds of cycles. Overall, in addition to the

• further corroborated by density functional theory calculations [51][52]. As mentioned above, spinel ferrites can, in principle, be used as negative electrode materials in rechargeable Li-ion batteries. However, they have been shown to undergo conversion at low potential and these electrochemical reactions

• energy efficiency. And this is why ZFO and other spinel ferrites are not used in commercial secondary batteries, despite high theoretical specific capacities. Nevertheless, because nanomaterials are known to better resist stresses, it was worthwhile testing the 4 nm diameter ZFO nanocrystals in Li half

Improved lithium-ion battery anode capacity with a network of easily fabricated spindle-like carbon nanofibers

• Mengting Liu,
• Wenhe Xie,
• Lili Gu,
• Tianfeng Qin,
• Xiaoyi Hou and
• Deyan He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1289–1295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.120

• into the amorphous carbon matrix. When directly used as a binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries, the network showed excellent electrochemical performance with high capacity, good rate capacity and reliable cycling stability. Under a current density of 0.2 A g−1, it delivered a high reversible

• capacity of 875.5 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles and 1005.5 mAh g−1 after 250 cycles with a significant coulombic efficiency of 99.5%. Keywords: carbon nanofiber network; electrospinning; lithium-ion battery; manganese oxide; nitrogen modification; Introduction Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been identified

• voltammetry curves, (b) galvanostatic discharge–charge profiles, (c) rate capacity, and (d, e) cycling performance of the network of spindle-like carbon nanofibers anchored with MnO and N. Lithium storage performance of some comparable MnO–C-composite-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs

Fabrication and characterization of branched carbon nanostructures

• Sharali Malik,
• Yoshihiro Nemoto,
• Hongxuan Guo,
• Katsuhiko Ariga and
• Jonathan P. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1260–1266, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.116

• be also potential usage for energy conversion, e.g., in supercapacitors, solar cells and Li-ion batteries. However, the limited availability of b-MWCNTs has, to date, restricted their use in such technological applications. Herein, we report an inexpensive and simple method to fabricate large amounts

• design, development and production of supercapacitors, solar cells and Li-ion batteries. The first experimental observation of branched carbon nanotubes appears to have been in 1995, when after using an arc-discharge method L-, Y- and T-shaped MWCNTs were produced [18]. Subsequently, branched CNTs have

Mesoporous hollow carbon spheres for lithium–sulfur batteries: distribution of sulfur and electrochemical performance

• Anika C. Juhl,
• Artur Schneider,
• Boris Ufer,
• Torsten Brezesinski,
• Jürgen Janek and
• Michael Fröba

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1229–1240, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.114

• the use in lithium–sulfur batteries because of the large internal void offering space for sulfur and polysulfide storage and confinement. However, there is an ongoing discussion whether the cavity is accessible for sulfur. Yet no valid proof of cavity filling has been presented, mostly due to

• mass of sulfur over 500 cycles. Keywords: carbon/sulfur composites; cycling stability; distribution of sulfur in pores; hollow carbon spheres; lithium–sulfur batteries; Introduction In the past 20 years, rechargeable lithium–ion batteries have proven to be superior energy storage devices and have

• impregnation method. This is an important result as the analysis of HCS/sulfur composites is usually carried out by EDX measurements during which sulfur can redistribute due to the vacuum applied. Although the cavity of the HCS remains empty during sulfur loading, batteries using HCS/sulfur composite with 61

Manufacturing and investigation of physical properties of polyacrylonitrile nanofibre composites with SiO₂, TiO₂ and Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles

• Tomasz Tański,
• Wiktor Matysiak and
• Barbara Hajduk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1141–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.106

• batteries [21][22][23][24]. Studies on nanofibre composite mats of PAN/TiO2 have shown large photocatalytic efficiency under ultraviolet light and the potential use of these mats as catalyst in the decomposition of phenol, airborne aromatic compounds and methylene blue [25][26][27][28]. However, PAN/Bi2O3

• obtained composite mats, reinforced with silicon oxide, are a promising starting material that can be used to produce carbon anodes, which are used in lithium-ion batteries, after their subsequent treatment by carbonisation and chemical removal of the reinforcing phases in order to increase the porosity of

Facile synthesis of water-soluble carbon nano-onions under alkaline conditions

• Gaber Hashem Gaber Ahmed,
• Rosana Badía Laíño,
• Josefa Angela García Calzón and
• Marta Elena Díaz García

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 758–766, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.67

• attracted attention for batteries and supercapacitors, as active materials and/or dispersible conductive additives [12][13]. Usually C-onions are obtained by using sophisticated technologies, such as vacuum annealing of nano-diamond precursors [14][15], nano-diamond annealing in inert gases [16], arc

Unraveling the neurotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: focusing on molecular mechanisms

• Bin Song,
• Yanli Zhang,
• Jia Liu,
• Xiaoli Feng,
• Ting Zhou and
• Longquan Shao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 645–654, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.57

• characteristics [1] including antibacterial, ultraviolet-absorbing, photocatalytic, and self-cleaning properties [2]. Thus, TiO2 NPs are widely used in cosmetics, sun screens, ceramics, paints, packaging, lithium batteries, the food industry, and in medical applications [3]. However, the rapid development of

Novel roles for well-known players: from tobacco mosaic virus pests to enzymatically active assemblies

• Claudia Koch,
• Fabian J. Eber,
• Carlos Azucena,
• Alexander Förste,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Alexander M. Bittner,
• Holger Jeske,
• Hartmut Gliemann,
• Sabine Eiben,
• Fania C. Geiger and
• Christina Wege

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 613–629, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.54

• , batteries, photoelectrochemical cells or environmental remediation [63][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113], as scaffolds for the display of reporter dyes, nanoparticles or contrast agents such as gadolinium complexes, for light harvesting

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

• challenge over the next few years will not just be to produce electricity in a safe and clean way but also how to store the energy produced using technologies more efficient and more environmentally friendly than chemical batteries [13]. Creating small-scale energy storage technologies combined with smart

• cell devices and electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, based on carbon nanostructures could allow for the fabrication of devices in the near future that could be more efficient and cheaper to produce than conventional silicon solar cells and chemical batteries [16][17]. The potential

Surfactant-controlled composition and crystal structure of manganese(II) sulfide nanocrystals prepared by solvothermal synthesis

• Elena Capetti,
• Anna M. Ferretti,
• Vladimiro Dal Santo and
• Alessandro Ponti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2319–2329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.238

• ), ≈100 K (β-MnS), and 154 K (α-MnS) [6]. The interesting physical properties and the rich polymorphism prompted research on MnS nanocrystals (NCs) in view of applications as photoluminescent components [7], photoreduction catalysts [8], anode materials in lithium-ion batteries [9], and supercapacitor

Plasma fluorination of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: functionalization and thermal stability

• Claudia Struzzi,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Axel Hemberg,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Jean-François Colomer,
• Rony Snyders and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2263–2271, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.232

• precursor for several reactions (the introduction of polar groups has been successfully adopted to initiate subsequent functionalization [7][8][9][10]) and a solution for profitably implementing the carbon-based nanomaterials in several applications, such as gas sensors, batteries and polymeric switches [11

Metal hydrides: an innovative and challenging conversion reaction anode for lithium-ion batteries

• Luc Aymard,
• Yassine Oumellal and
• Jean-Pierre Bonnet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1821–1839, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.186

• .6.186 Abstract The state of the art of conversion reactions of metal hydrides (MH) with lithium is presented and discussed in this review with regard to the use of these hydrides as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. A focus on the gravimetric and volumetric storage capacities for different

• which share the knowledge of both hydrogen-storage and lithium-anode communities. Keywords: conversion reaction; lithium-ion batteries; metal hydrides; Review Introduction To satisfy the continuously raising need for energy is now a key priority worldwide. The challenge is to obtain environmentally

• electricity on demand. With regard to this, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries can present an attractive solution, provided that they exhibit sufficient potential and gravimetric/volumetric capacities. Graphite, which is usually used as negative electrode with an intercalation reaction of lithium, is not suitable

Radiation losses in the microwave K_u band in magneto-electric nanocomposites

• Talwinder Kaur,
• Sachin Kumar,
• Jyoti Sharma and
• A. K. Srivastava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1700–1707, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.173

• great potential for other applications such as rechargeable batteries. The extensive use of electrical equipment, producing microwave, has created a new problem named electromagnetic interference (EMI), which is not good for device health. So, an effective material is required to reduce the

Materials for sustainable energy production, storage, and conversion

• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1601–1602, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.163

• is the storage of electrical energy for stationary, mobile, and portable applications. Here, solutions are needed that are based either on chemical compounds, such as hydrogen or hydrocarbons, or on safe, low cost and powerful batteries, which have a long cycle and calendar life and a high energy

• -noble metals with a long lifetime and a low kinetic barrier for conversion. For electrochemical storage, batteries based on new ionic shuttles such as sodium or magnesium are being explored. Moreover, oxygen from air could serve as an active cathode material, which does not need to be intrinsically

• elevated temperatures (HT-PEMFC) below 200 °C are discussed by Roswitha Zeis [3]. The field of electrochemical energy storage is particularly challenging. Current Li-ion batteries are not only expensive and have a relatively short lifetime, they are also considered to not have enough energy content to meet

The Kirkendall effect and nanoscience: hollow nanospheres and nanotubes

• Abdel-Aziz El Mel,
• Ryusuke Nakamura and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1348–1361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.139

• biotechnology [8], batteries [9][10][11][12][13], sensors [14][15][16], catalysis [17][18][19], photodetectors [20], electrochromic devices [21] and supercapacitors [22]. Three years after the pioneering work of Yin et al. [7], the progress in the synthesis of nanotubes and hollow nanoparticles using the

From lithium to sodium: cell chemistry of room temperature sodium–air and sodium–sulfur batteries

• Philipp Adelhelm,
• Pascal Hartmann,
• Conrad L. Bender,
• Martin Busche,
• Christine Eufinger and
• Juergen Janek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1016–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.105

• , Germany 10.3762/bjnano.6.105 Abstract Research devoted to room temperature lithium–sulfur (Li/S8) and lithium–oxygen (Li/O2) batteries has significantly increased over the past ten years. The race to develop such cell systems is mainly motivated by the very high theoretical energy density and the

• systems, although the already commercialized, high-temperature Na/S8 and Na/NiCl2 batteries suggest that a rechargeable battery based on sodium is feasible on a large scale. Moreover, the natural abundance of sodium is an attractive benefit for the development of batteries based on low cost components

• . This review provides a summary of the state-of-the-art knowledge on lithium–sulfur and lithium–oxygen batteries and a direct comparison with the analogous sodium systems. The general properties, major benefits and challenges, recent strategies for performance improvements and general guidelines for

Multiscale modeling of lithium ion batteries: thermal aspects

• Arnulf Latz and
• Jochen Zausch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 987–1007, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.102

• .6.102 Abstract The thermal behavior of lithium ion batteries has a huge impact on their lifetime and the initiation of degradation processes. The development of hot spots or large local overpotentials leading, e.g., to lithium metal deposition depends on material properties as well as on the nano- und

• and discuss in detail a rigorous approach for the continuum scale based on rational thermodynamics and homogenization theories. Our focus is on the development of a systematic thermodynamically consistent theory for thermal phenomena in batteries at the microstructure scale and at the cell scale. We

• special cases the averaged thermal behavior can be captured very well by porous electrode theory. Keywords: lithium ion batteries; multiscale modeling; heat transport; Introduction The main challenge for establishing an ab initio multiscale simulation approach for batteries or electrochemical storage