Zn-ion Batteries: Charge Storing Mechanism and Development Challenges.

Improving the energy share of renewable energy technologies is the only solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The high-performing green battery energy storage technologies are critical for storing energy to address the intermittent nature of renewable energy resources. In recent years, aqueous batteries, particularly Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs), have achieved and shown great potential for stationary energy storage systems owing to their low cost and safer operation. However, the practical applications of the ZIBs have significantly been impeded due to the gap between the breakthroughs achieved in academic research and industrial developments. The present review discusses the ZIB's advantages, possibilities, and shortcomings for stationary energy storage systems. The Review begins with a brief introduction to the ZIBs and their charge storage mechanisms based on the structural properties of cathode materials. The scientific and technical challenges that obstruct the commercialization of the ZIBs are discussed in detail concerning their impact on accelerating the utilization of the ZIBs for real-life applications. The final section highlights the outlook on research in this flourishing field.

Efficient photoelectrocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin using nano-TiO2 photoanode thin films: A comparative study with photocatalytic and electrocatalytic methods.

Excessive utilization of antibiotics in human, animal, and aquaculture poses a substantial threat to human health and the environment. Photoelectrochemical processes are increasingly applied for water remediation because they generate oxidizing species and mineralize organic pollutants, making even small water quantities more amenable for utilization. Thus, this study presents the fabrication of an efficient nano-TiO2 photoanode thin film (PATF) specifically designed for the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of amoxicillin (AMX). The TiO2 PATFs were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate using an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process with various titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) acetylacetone (AcacH) molar ratios (1:1 to 1:10). The PEC oxidation of AMX was investigated using various molar ratios of TTIP:AcacH TiO2 PATF/FTO by linear sweep voltammetry, and a 1:8 M ratio of PATF exhibited superior PEC oxidation activity than other TiO2 PATFs. Subsequently, the PEC degradation efficiency of AMX was compared with that of photocatalytic (PC) and electrocatalytic (EC) methods. The results demonstrated that the PEC process effectively eliminated 76.2% of AMX within 120 min at 0.8 V, outperforming the removal rates attained by the EC (32.3%) and PC (52.6%). Notably, increasing the voltage to 1.0 V accelerated the PEC degradation of AMX, attaining a removal efficiency of 91.2% within 90 min and exceeding 95% within 120 min.