Anhui University of Technology

Abstract A facile two‐step method is developed for large‐scale growth of ultrathin mesoporous nickel cobaltite (NiCo 2 O 4 ) nanosheets on conductive nickel foam with robust adhesion as a high‐performance electrode for electrochemical capacitors. The synthesis involves the co‐electrodeposition of a bimetallic (Ni, Co) hydroxide precursor on a Ni foam support and subsequent thermal transformation to spinel mesoporous NiCo 2 O 4 . The as‐prepared ultrathin NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets with the thickness of a few nanometers possess many interparticle mesopores with a size range from 2 to 5 nm. The nickel foam supported ultrathin mesoporous NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets promise fast electron and ion transport, large electroactive surface area, and excellent structural stability. As a result, superior pseudocapacitive performance is achieved with an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 1450 F g −1 , even at a very high current density of 20 A g −1 , and excellent cycling performance at high rates, suggesting its promising application as an efficient electrode for electrochemical capacitors.

Advanced electrodes with a high energy density at high power are urgently needed for high-performance energy storage devices, including lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs), to fulfil the requirements of future electrochemical power sources for applications such as in hybrid electric/plug-in-hybrid (HEV/PHEV) vehicles. Metal sulfides with unique physical and chemical properties, as well as high specific capacity/capacitance, which are typically multiple times higher than that of the carbon/graphite-based materials, are currently studied as promising electrode materials. However, the implementation of these sulfide electrodes in practical applications is hindered by their inferior rate performance and cycling stability. Nanostructures offering the advantages of high surface-to-volume ratios, favourable transport properties, and high freedom for the volume change upon ion insertion/extraction and other reactions, present an opportunity to build next-generation LIBs and SCs. Thus, the development of novel concepts in material research to achieve new nanostructures paves the way for improved electrochemical performance. Herein, we summarize recent advances in nanostructured metal sulfides, such as iron sulfides, copper sulfides, cobalt sulfides, nickel sulfides, manganese sulfides, molybdenum sulfides, tin sulfides, with zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional morphologies for LIB and SC applications. In addition, the recently emerged concept of incorporating conductive matrices, especially graphene, with metal sulfide nanomaterials will also be highlighted. Finally, some remarks are made on the challenges and perspectives for the future development of metal sulfide-based LIB and SC devices.

Semiconductor photocatalysts have received much attention in recent years due to their great potentials for the development of renewable energy technologies, as well as for environmental protection and remediation. The effective harvesting of solar energy and suppression of charge carrier recombination are two key aspects in photocatalysis. The formation of heterostructured photocatalysts is a promising strategy to improve photocatalytic activity, which is superior to that of their single component photocatalysts. This Feature Article concisely summarizes and highlights the state‐of‐the‐art progress of semiconductor/semiconductor heterostructured photocatalysts with diverse models, including type‐I and type‐II heterojunctions, Z‐scheme system, p–n heterojunctions, and homojunction band alignments, which were explored for effective improvement of photocatalytic activity through increase of the visible‐light absorption, promotion of separation, and transportation of the photoinduced charge carries, and enhancement of the photocatalytic stability.

An advanced electrode for high-performance electrochemical capacitors has been designed by growing ultrathin mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheet arrays on the Ni foam support. This unique 3D electrode manifests exceptional supercapacitive performance with ultrahigh specific capacitance at high current densities and excellent cycling stability.

The amount of spent lithium-ion batteries has grown dramatically in recent years, and the development of a recycling process for spent lithium-ion batteries is necessary and urgent from the viewpoints of environmental protection and resource savings. The hydrometallurgical process is considered to be the most suitable method for the recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries. The current status of hydrometallurgical recycling technologies of spent lithium-ion batteries is reviewed in this paper. A series of hydrometallurgical procedures including pretreatment of the spent lithium-ion batteries, leaching process and separation of valuable metals from leaching solution are introduced in detail, and their advantages and problems are analyzed. Finally, the prospects and direction of the recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries are put forward. It is pointed out that a more flexible and universal process is required for the recovery of different types of spent lithium-ion batteries. Besides cathode active materials, the other components of spent lithium-ion batteries including electrolyte and anode materials also need to be recovered due to their potential environmental hazards.

Semiconductor photocatalysts have attracted increased attention due to their great potential for solving energy and environmental problems. The formation of Z-scheme photocatalytic systems that mimic natural photosynthesis is a promising strategy to improve photocatalytic activity that is superior to single component photocatalysts. The connection between photosystem I (PS I) and photosystem II (PS II) are crucial for constructing efficient Z-scheme photocatalytic systems using two photocatalysts (PS I and PS II). The present review concisely summarizes and highlights recent state-of-the-art accomplishments of Z-scheme photocatalytic systems with diverse connection modes, including i) with shuttle redox mediators, ii) without electron mediators, and iii) with solid-state electron mediators, which effectively increase visible-light absorption, promote the separation and transportation of photoinduced charge carriers, and thus enhance the photocatalytic efficiency. The challenges and prospects for future development of Z-scheme photocatalytic systems are also presented.

A 3D hierarchical meso- and macroporous Na3V2(PO4)3-based hybrid cathode with connected Na ion/electron pathways is developed for ultra-fast charge and discharge sodium-ion batteries. It delivers an excellent rate capability (e.g., 86 mA h g−1 at 100 C) and outstanding cycling stability (e.g., 64% retention after 10 000 cycles at 100 C), indicating its superiority in practical applications. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

This review highlights breakthroughs in the past decade in the synthesis and the modification of both the chemistry and morphology of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂.

Meeting the rising energy demand and limiting its environmental impact are the two intertwined issues faced in the 21st century. Governments in different countries have been engaged in developing regulations and related policies to encourage environment friendly renewable energy generation along with conservation strategies and technological innovations. It is important to develop sustainable energy policies and provide relevant and suitable policy recommendations for end-users. This study presents a review on sustainable energy policy for promotion of renewable energy by introducing the development history of energy policy in five countries, i.e., the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and China. A survey of the articles aimed at promoting the development of sustainable energy policies and their modelling is carried out. It is observed that energy-efficiency standard is one of the most popular strategy for building energy saving, which is dynamic and renewed based on the current available technologies. Feed-in-tariff has been widely applied to encourage the application of renewable energy, which is demonstrated successfully in different countries. Building energy performance certification schemes should be enhanced in terms of reliable database system and information transparency to pave the way for future net-zero energy building and smart cities.

This paper is concerned with the problem of extended dissipativity-based state estimation for discrete-time Markov jump neural networks (NNs), where the variation of the piecewise time-varying transition probabilities of Markov chain is subject to a set of switching signals satisfying an average dwell-time property. The communication links between the NNs and the estimator are assumed to be imperfect, where the phenomena of signal quantization and data packet dropouts occur simultaneously. The aim of this paper is to contribute with a Markov switching estimator design method, which ensures that the resulting error system is extended stochastically dissipative, in the simultaneous presences of packet dropouts and signal quantization stemmed from unreliable communication links. Sufficient conditions for the solvability of such a problem are established. Based on the derived conditions, an explicit expression of the desired Markov switching estimator is presented. Finally, two illustrated examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed design method.

The slow state variables feedback stabilization problem for semi-Markov jump discrete-time systems with slow sampling singular perturbations is discussed in this work. A new fairly comprehensive system model, semi-Markov jump system with singular perturbations, which is more general than Markov jump model, is employed to describe the phenomena of random abrupt changes in structure and parameters of the systems. Based on a slow state variables feedback control scheme, a novel technique to design the desired controller is presented and the allowed maximum of singular perturbation parameter can be calculated. With the help of the discrete-time semi-Markov kernel approach, some sojourn-time-dependent and less-conservative sufficient conditions are established via a novel matrix decoupling technique to ensure the solvability of the problem to be addressed. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the superiority and usefulness of the proposed method.

This paper investigates the finite-time event-triggered 'I-1 control problem for Takagi-Sugeno Markov jump fuzzy systems. Because of the sampling behaviors and the effect of network environment, the premise variables considered in this paper are subject to asynchronous constraints. The aim of this paper is to synthesize a controller via an event-triggered communication scheme such that not only the resulting closed-loop system is finite-time bounded and satisfies a prescribed 'I-1 performance level, but also the communication burden is reduced. First, a sufficient condition is established for the finite-time bounded 'I-1 performance analysis of the closed-loop fuzzy system with fully considering the asynchronous premises. Then, based on the derived condition, the method of the desired controller design is presented. Two illustrative examples are finally presented to demonstrate the practicability and efficacy of the proposed method.

An “acetonitrile/water in salt” electrolyte with non-flammability, high conductivity, a high stability window and a wide applicable temperature range enables high-performance supercapacitors.

Abstract The pursuit of sustainable energy utilization arouses increasing interest in efficiently producing durable battery materials and catalysts with minimum environmental impact. As green, safe, and cheap eutectic mixtures, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) provide tremendous opportunities and open up attractive perspectives as charge transfer and reaction media for electrochemical energy storage and conversion (EESC). In this review, the fundamental properties of DESs are first summarized. Then, the important roles that DESs play in various EESC technologies including advanced electrolytes for batteries/supercapacitors, media for the preparation of electrode materials and catalysts, and extracting agents for battery recycling are systematically reviewed. A particular focus is placed on the fundamental understanding of structure–composition–property–performance relationships. Finally, the challenges for the controllable design of DESs for EESC applications and future developments are presented. This review is expected to shed light on developing advanced DESs for next‐generation EESC systems.

Abstract Constructing well defined nanostructures is promising but still challenging for high‐efficiency catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and energy storage. Herein, utilizing the differences in surface energies between (111) facets of CoP and NiCoP, a novel CoP/NiCoP heterojunction is designed and synthesized with a nanotadpoles (NTs)‐like morphology via a solid‐state phase transformation strategy. By effective interface construction, the disorder in terms of electronic structure and coordination environment at the interface in CoP/NiCoP NTs is created, which leads to dramatically elevated HER performance within a wide pH range. Theoretical calculations prove that an optimized proton chemisorption and H 2 O dissociation are achieved by an optimized phosphide polymorph at the interface, accelerating the HER reaction. The CoP/NiCoP NTs are also proved to be excellent candidates for use in supercapacitors (SCs) with a high specific capacitance (1106.2 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 ) and good cycling stability (nearly 100% initial capacity retention after 1000 cycles). An asymmetric supercapacitor shows a high energy density (145 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 ) and good cycling stability (capacitance retention is 95% after 3200 cycles). This work provides new insights into the catalyst design for electrocatalytic and energy storage applications.

Abstract A facile one‐step hydrothermal method is developed for large‐scale production of well‐designed flexible and free‐standing Co 3 O 4 /reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrid paper as an electrode for electrochemical capacitors. Densely packed unique Co 3 O 4 monolayer microsphere arrays uniformly cover the surface of the rGO/CNTs film. The alkaline hydrothermal treatment leads to not only the deposition of Co 3 O 4 microspheres array, but also the reduction of the GO sheets at the same time. The unique hybrid paper is evaluated as an electrode for electrochemical capacitors without any ancillary materials. It is found that the obtained hybrid flexible paper, composed of Co 3 O 4 microsphere array anchored to the underling conductive rGO/CNTs substrate with robust adhesion, is able to deliver high specific capacitance with excellent electrochemical stability even at high current densities, suggesting its promising application as an efficient electrode material for electrochemical capacitors.

Graphene with a sp2-honeycomb carbon lattice has drawn a large amount of attention due to its excellent properties and potential applications in many fields. Similar to the structure of graphene, two-dimensional semiconductors are its two-dimensional and isostructural counterparts based on the typical layer-structured semiconductors, such as boron nitride (h-BN) and transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g. MoS2 and WS2), whose layers are bound by weak van der Waals forces. Unlike the semi-metal features of graphene, the two-dimensional semiconductors are natural semiconductors with thicknesses on the atomic scale. When one of the dimensions is extremely reduced, the two-dimensional semiconductors exhibit some unique properties, such as a transition from indirect to direct semiconductor properties, and hence have great potential for applications in electronics, energy storage, sensors, catalysis and composites, which arise both from the dimension-reduced effect and from the modified electronic structure. In this feature article, recent developments in the synthesis, properties and applications of two-dimensional semiconductors are discussed. The reported virtues and novelties of two-dimensional semiconductors are highlighted and the current problems in their developing process are clarified, in addition to their challenges and future prospects.

It is well known that regular exercise can benefit health by enhancing antioxidant defenses in the body. However, unaccustomed and/or exhaustive exercise can generate excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress-related tissue damages and impaired muscle contractility. ROS are produced in both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Mitochondria, NADPH oxidases and xanthine oxidases have all been identified as potential contributors to ROS production, yet the exact redox mechanisms underlying exercise-induced oxidative stress remain elusive. Interestingly, moderate exposure to ROS is necessary to induce body's adaptive responses such as the activation of antioxidant defense mechanisms. Dietary antioxidant manipulation can also reduce ROS levels and muscle fatigue, as well as enhance exercise recovery. To elucidate the complex role of ROS in exercise, this review updates on new findings of ROS origins within skeletal muscles associated with various types of exercises such as endurance, sprint and mountain climbing. In addition, we will examine the corresponding antioxidant defense systems as well as dietary manipulation against damages caused by ROS.

For the first time solid-state zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors based on co-polymer derived hollow carbon spheres with good flexibility have been developed.

In the work, a facile yet efficient self‐sacrifice strategy is smartly developed to scalably fabricate hierarchical mesoporous bi‐component‐active ZnO/ZnFe 2 O 4 (ZZFO) sub‐microcubes (SMCs) by calcination of single‐resource Prussian blue analogue of Zn 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] 2 cubes. The hybrid ZZFO SCMs are homogeneously constructed from well‐dispersed nanocrstalline ZnO and ZnFe 2 O 4 (ZFO) subunites at the nanoscale. After selectively etching of ZnO nanodomains from the hybrid, porously assembled ZFO SMCs with integrate architecture are obtained accordingly. When evaluated as anodes for LIBs, both hybrid ZZFO and ZFO samples exhibit appealing electrochemical performance. However, the as‐synthesized ZZFO SMCs demonstrate even better electrochemical Li‐storage performance, including even larger initial discharge capacity and reversible capacity, higher rate behavior and better cycling performance, particularly at high rates, compared with the single ZFO, which should be attributed to its unique microstructure characteristics and striking synergistic effect between the bi‐component‐active, well‐dispersed ZnO and ZFO nanophases. Of great significance, light is shed upon the insights into the correlation between the electrochemical Li‐storage property and the structure/component of the hybrid ZZFO SMCs, thus, it is strongly envisioned that the elegant design concept of the hybrid holds great promise for the efficient synthesis of advanced yet low‐cost anodes for next‐generation rechargeable Li‐ion batteries.