Although aqueous zinc ion batteries are considered to be a promising next-generation energy storage battery, their commercialization is limited by the stability and safety issues of zinc anode. Herein, 2-methyl imidazole (Hmim) is introduced as electrolyte additive to in-situ construct a robust inorganic-organic zinc-rich (Zn4SO4(OH)6/Zn(Hmim)) solid electrolyte interface film for realizing high-stable dendrite-free Zn anode. On one hand, the zincophilic properties of Hmim and its chelation with Zn2+ result in more active sites for initial nucleation, leading to the uniform zinc deposition, and the change of coordination environment makes the diffusivity of ions decrease and the nucleation overpotential increase, which result in smaller grains in the initial zinc deposition stage. On the other hand, the formed inorganic-organic solid electrolyte interface film with good chemical and thermal stability can protect Zn anode well, and thus the side reactions and zinc dendrites can be effectively inhibited. Consequently, the Hmim-based electrolyte promotes dendrite-free Zn plating/striping with high Coulombic efficiency (97.32 %) and highly stability (cycling up to 2000 h). When applied in full cell, the Zn-V2O5 cell also demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performances. This work provides a simple and effective method for the implementation of high performance and high safety zinc-ion batteries.

Zinc metal batteries have been considered as a promising candidate for next-generation batteries due to their high safety and low cost. However, their practical applications are severely hampered by the poor cyclability that caused by the undesired dendrite growth of metallic Zn. Herein, Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene was first used as electrolyte additive to facilitate the uniform Zn deposition by controlling the nucleation and growth process of Zn. Such MXene additives can not only be absorbed on Zn foil to induce uniform initial Zn deposition via providing abundant zincophilic-O groups and subsequently participate in the formation of robust solid-electrolyte interface film, but also accelerate ion transportation by reducing the Zn 2+ concentration gradient at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Consequently, MXene-containing electrolyte realizes dendrite-free Zn plating/striping with high Coulombic efficiency (99.7%) and superior reversibility (stably up to 1180 cycles). When applied in full cell, the Zn-V 2 O 5 cell also delivers significantly improved cycling performances. This work provides a facile yet effective method for developing reversible zinc metal batteries.

Conversion-type anodes with high theoretical capacity have attracted enormous interest for lithium storage, although their extremely poor conductivity and volume variations during lithiation-delithiation processes seriously limit their practical applications. Herein, a facile strategy to fabricate ZnO/ZnS@N-C heterostructures decorated on carbon nanotubes (ZnO/ZnS@N-C/CNTs) with metal-organic framework assistance is developed. The as-prepared anodes display higher reversible capacity of 1020.6 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 200 cycles and excellent high-cyclability with 386.6 mAh g-1 at 1000 mA g-1 over 400 cycles. The conductive CNT network and N-doped carbon shell could successfully improve the electrical conductivity and avoid the aggregation of ultrasmall ZnO/ZnS nanoparticles. The results calculated from density functional theory also suggest that the ZnO/ZnS heterostructures could promote electron-transfer capability.

SnO2 is considered to be a promising candidate as anode material for lithium ion batteries, due to its high theoretical specific capacity (1494 mAh·g−1). Nevertheless, SnO2-based anodes suffer from poor electronic conductivity and serious volume variation (300%) during lithiation/delithiation process, leading to fast capacity fading. To solve these problems, SnO2 quantum dots modified N-doped carbon spheres (SnO2 QDs@N–C) are fabricated by facile hydrolysis process of SnCl2, accompanied with the polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy), followed by a calcination method. When used as anodes for lithium ion batteries, SnO2 QDs@N–C exhibits high discharge capacity, superior rate properties as well as good cyclability. The carbon matrix completely encapsulates the SnO2 quantum dots, preventing the aggregation and volume change during cycling. Furthermore, the high N content produces abundant defects in carbon matrix. It is worth noting that SnO2 QDs@N–C shows excellent capacitive contribution properties, which may be due to the ultra-small size of SnO2 and high conductivity of the carbon matrix. SnO2 quantum dots modified N-doped carbon spheres are successfully fabricated by facile hydrolysis-high temperature calcination approach using SnCl2 and pyrrole monomer as precursors. As anodes for lithium ion batteries, the SnO2 QDs@N-C-600 exhibits superior rate capability and excellent cycling stability. This work provides an effective way to obtain electrode materials with high specific capacity and good cycling performance for energy storage

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries possess the merits of good environmental benignity, high operational safety and high energy density. Nevertheless, the practical application of zinc-ion batteries is severely obstructed by the inhomogeneous deposition of metallic Zn on the anode, which results in serious capacity fading, poor coulombic efficiency, and electrolyte consumption. Herein, we propose a simple strategy of constructing a functional nitrogen-doped carbon network coating layer on zinc foil for dendrite-free Zn stripping/plating. On one hand, the good conductivity of the artificial Zn/electrolyte interface can quickly balance the electric field and lower the nucleation overpotential. On the other hand, the porosity feature and functional groups of the protective layer can provide a fast Zn2+ transportation pathway and generate well-dispersed nucleation seeds. Therefore, the protective layer can effectively hamper the growth of metallic Zn dendrites and resist side reactions. The as-prepared N-C/Zn anode displays superior cycling stability (800 h at 2 mA cm-2 with the capacity of 2 mA h cm-2) and a satisfactory coulombic efficiency of 98.76% during the Zn stripping/plating process. A long cycle life and high specific capacity (162.10 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles at 2.0 A g-1) are also obtained for N-C/Zn||ZnSO4||V2O5 full cells. The strategy provides a facile and effective opportunity for constructing high-performance rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Nickel phosphides are considered to be a promising lithium storage host due to their high theoretical capacities. However, the volume change during the charge-discharge process and inherent poor reaction kinetics limit their electrochemical performance. To solve these problems, Ni/Ni2P heterostructures encapsulated in 3D porous carbon networks are fabricated. The macro/micro-pores-rich carbon networks are in situ constructed via a freeze-drying method and subsequent pyrolysis route using NaCl as a template. In the following phosphorization process, Ni/Ni2P nanoparticles are homogenously embedded in the carbon matrix. When used as anodes for lithium ion batteries, the Ni/Ni2P/porous carbon networks deliver high discharge capacity, good cycling stability as well as good rate performance. It is believed that metallic Ni and porous carbon networks significantly improve the conductivity of electrodes. Moreover, the 3D conductive matrix can not only alleviate the volume change, but also prevent the aggregation and pulverization of Ni2P nanoparticles during the charge-discharge process.

Microwave‐assisted three‐component reactions of arylglyoxals with cyclic 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds and naphthalen‐2‐amine have been established, by which a series of new functionalized benzo[e]indoles with good yields were synthesized. The reaction was easily conducted in HOAc, enabling domino cyclization to construct three new σ‐bonds in a one‐pot operation. Flexible structural modification and broad functional group compatibility as well as mild reaction conditions make this strategy a useful and attractive process of library generation for drug discovery.