Table of Content

20 September 2020, Volume 3 Issue 3

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Halogens as Positive Electrode Active Species for Flow Batteries and Regenerative Fuel Cells

Alexander Jameson, Elod Gyenge

2020, 3(3):  431-465.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00067-2

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Flow batteries offer solutions to a number of the growing concerns regarding world energy, such as increasing the viability of renewable energy sources via load balancing. However, issues regarding the redox couples employed, including high costs, poor solubilities/energy densities, and durability of battery materials are still hampering widespread adoption of this technology. Flow batteries with a positive half-cell consisting of a halogen based redox couple (Cl^-/Cl₂, Br^-/Br₂, I^-/I₂) offer several advantages over other alternatives, such as being relatively inexpensive, highly soluble, and exhibiting faster kinetics than many other electroactive redox couples. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive comparative review of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of relevant halogen and polyhalide redox couples, and recent advances in electrode and membrane materials for various halogen-based flow batteries and regenerative hydrogen fuel cells using halogens instead of oxygen.




Full-text： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00069-0



Review of System Integration and Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Di Wu, Chao Peng, Cong Yin, Hao Tang

2020, 3(3):  466-505.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00068-1

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as power systems have been widely studied in various application fields because of advantages such as cleanness and high efficiency with great progress having been made in the past decades both technologically and fundamentally. Despite the many promising developments however, technical challenges remain in terms of performance and lifespans. This is because PEMFCs are complex systems composed of various components and factors such as material property, engineering design and operating conditions can interact with each other to affect lifespans and performance. To fully understand the coupling effects of different factors on the overall performance and durability of PEMFCs, this review will comprehensively present existing research based on four aspects, including fuel cell stacks, subsystems, system integration and control strategy optimizations. First, this review will outline fuel cell stacks with their multi-physics modeling and engineering design to provide an understanding of the operating mechanisms inside PEMFC reactors. Following this, the progress of research into the structure and function of each subsystem is summarized and integration schemes for different applications are briefly presented. Finally, various control strategies for individual PEMFC subsystems to optimize energy management and dynamic performance are discussed.




Full-text：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00068-1



A Review of Composite/Hybrid Electrocatalysts and Photocatalysts for Nitrogen Reduction Reactions: Advanced Materials, Mechanisms, Challenges and Perspectives

Revanasiddappa Manjunatha, Aleksandar Karajić, Minmin Liu, Zibo Zhai, Li Dong, Wei Yan, David P. Wilkinson, Jiujun Zhang

2020, 3(3):  506-540.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00069-0

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The electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to produce ammonia using sustainable and “green” materials and electricity has proven to be not only feasible, but promising. However, low catalytic activity and stability as well as poor product selectivity have hindered practical application. To address this, this review will provide a comprehensive presentation of the latest progress in the experimental investigation and fundamental understanding of nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) for the production of ammonia as catalyzed by electrocatalysts and photocatalysts. In particular, the design, synthesis, characterization and performance validation of these catalysts are classified and analyzed in terms of their catalytic activity, stability and selectivity toward ammonia production. Reviewed electrocatalysts include metal/carbon, metal/metal oxide and metal oxide/carbon composites, and reviewed photocatalysts include semiconductor-semiconductor, semiconductor-metal, semiconductor-carbon and multicomponent heterojunctions. Furthermore, several challenges are discussed and possible research directions are proposed to facilitate further research and development to overcome the challenges in NRR toward practical application.




Full-text：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00069-0



Dealloyed nanoporous materials for rechargeable lithium batteries

Xuan Wu, Guang He, Yi Ding

2020, 3(3):  541-580.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00070-7

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Dealloying has been recognized as a universal strategy to fabricate various functional electrode materials with open networks, nanoscale ligaments, tunable pore sizes and rich surface chemistry, all of which are very attractive characteristics for rechargeable lithium batteries. In particular, lithium ion insertion/extraction in metal anodes is naturally associated with the alloying/dealloying mechanism. The past decade has witnessed rapid growth of this research field with enormous progress. In this review article, we first summarize the recent development and microstructural regulation of dealloyed materials. Next, we focus on the rational design of nanoporous electrodes for rechargeable lithium batteries and related structure-performance correlations. Finally, some critical issues and perspectives are presented to guide the future development directions of such promising technology for high-energy batteries.




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Recent Advancements and Perspective of High-Performance Printed Power Sources with Multiple Form Factors

Xiaoyu Shi, Zhong-Shuai Wu, Xinhe Bao

2020, 3(3):  581-612.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00071-6

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The rapid development of wearable and smart electronics for environmental sensors, Internet of things and implantable medical devices has accelerated the demand for high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs) that possess high safety and diverse form factors. Of these devices, printable EESDs including batteries and supercapacitors are regarded as a novel class of highly competitive candidates to meet the demands to future wearable, portable and integrated power sources due to their low costs, scalability and outstanding compatibility with industrial processes. In addition, printable EESDs can enable the design of various form factors, including tailored sizes and shapes, miniaturization, flexibility, esthetic versatility and integration. Based on this, this review will provide a topical overview of recent advancements in printable EESDs with a focus on representative printing techniques and their intriguing features, including rheological requirements to component inks, printing resolutions, compatible substrates and potential applications for the fabrication of high-performance EESDs. This review will also discuss the diversified form factors and functionalities of printable EESDs that allow for designable shapes, mechanical robustness and integration toward unconventional, customized, flexible and smart applications in future electronics and present the existing challenges and perspective of printed power sources with multiple form factors.




Full-text：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00071-6



Selenium or Tellurium as Eutectic Accelerators for High-Performance Lithium/Sodium–Sulfur Batteries

Shuping Li, Wei Zhang, Ziqi Zeng, Shijie Cheng, Jia Xie

2020, 3(3):  613-642.  doi:10.1007/s41918-020-00072-5

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Lithium (Li)/sodium (Na)-sulfur (S) batteries are considered to be competitive candidates for the next-generation energy storage devices due to ultrahigh theoretical energy densities and potential low costs. However, the insulating nature of S and dissolution of intermediate polysulfides hinder the development. Here, the use of selenium (Se) or tellurium (Te) as eutectic accelerators in S cathodes can significantly improve the performances. Se and Te can not only be easily introduced into S to form uniform dispersions at the molecular level through S-Se or S-Te bonds and contribute to capacity through their inherent redox reactions, but also significantly accelerate reaction kinetics and alleviate polysulfide dissolution to achieve excellent battery performances. Even for solid-state conversion mechanisms or in all-solid-state batteries, Se or Te can enhance the electronic and ionic conductivities to result in better rate and cycling performances. Overall, Se or Te modified S cathodes possess good compatibility with both Li and Na anode materials and can exhibit excellent electrochemical performances. Therefore, the use of Se or Te as eutectic accelerators in S cathodes is a universal and effective strategy to enhance battery performances and obtain better Li/Na-S batteries.




Full-text：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41918-020-00072-5