Potassium-Ion Batteries: Sulfur-Grafted Hollow Carbon Spheres for Potassium-Ion Battery Anodes (Adv. Mater. 30/2019)

Carbon coated hollow Na2FePO4F spheres for Na-ion battery cathodes

Carbon coated porous hollow Na2FePO4F (C/Na2FePO4F) spheres with 500 nm diameter and 80 nm wall thickness are synthesized by a one-step template-free ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process using sucrose as the carbon source. Nano-sized porous hollow C/Na2FePO4F spheres allow electrolyte to penetrate into the hollow structure, and thus the electrochemical reaction can take place on both the outside ...

Role of Nitrogen Doped Graphene for Improved High Capacity Potassium Ion Battery Anodes.

Potassium is an earth abundant alternative to lithium for rechargeable batteries, but a critical limitation in potassium ion battery anodes is the low capacity of KC8 graphite intercalation compounds in comparison to conventional LiC6. Here we demonstrate that nitrogen doping of few-layered graphene can increase the storage capacity of potassium from a theoretical maximum of 278 mAh/g in graphi...

Low-cost carbon-silicon nanocomposite anodes for lithium ion batteries

The specific energy of the existing lithium ion battery cells is limited because intercalation electrodes made of activated carbon (AC) materials have limited lithium ion storage capacities. Carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon nanofibers are the most sought alternatives to replace AC materials but their synthesis cost makes them highly prohibitive. Silicon has recently emerged as a strong ca...

Silicon/Disordered Carbon Nanocomposites for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Silicon nanoparticles encapsulated in hollow graphitized carbon nanofibers for lithium ion battery anodes.

Silicon (Si) is a promising material for lithium ion battery (LIB) anodes due to its high specific capacity. To overcome its shortcomings such as insulation property and large volume change during the charge-discharge process, a novel hybrid system, Si nanoparticles encapsulated in hollow graphitized carbon nanofibers, is studied. First, electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-Si hybrid nanofibers ...