Fast Energy Storage of SnS2 Anode Nanoconfined in Hollow Porous Carbon Nanofibers for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The development of conversion-typed anodes with ultrafast charging and large energy storage is quite challenging due to the sluggish ions/electrons transfer kinetics in bulk materials and fracture of the active materials. Herein, the design of porous carbon nanofibers/SnS2 composite (SnS2 @N-HPCNFs) for high-rate energy storage, where the ultrathin SnS2 nanosheets are nanoconfined in N-doped carbon nanofibers with tunable void spaces, is reported. The highly interconnected carbon nanofibers in three-dimensional (3D) architecture provide a fast electron transfer pathway and alleviate the volume expansion of SnS2 , while their hierarchical porous structure facilitates rapid ion diffusion. Specifically, the anode delivers a remarkable specific capacity of 1935.50 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C and excellent rate capability up to 30 C with a specific capacity of 289.60 mAh g-1 . Meanwhile, at a high rate of 20 C, the electrode displays a high capacity retention of 84% after 3000 cycles and a long cycle life of 10 000 cycles. This work provides a deep insight into the construction of electrodes with high ionic/electronic conductivity for fast-charging energy storage devices.

Effect of ion form of the ion-exchange resin on ε-poly-l-lysine purification from microbial fermentation broth.

ε-Poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) is an added-value natural product with widespread application in the fields of food, pharmaceuticals and biopolymer materials. However, the high production cost reduces its application. To improve the efficiency of ε-PL purification for decreasing the cost of downstream processes, the ion form of the ion-exchange resin, which is widely used for ε-PL purification, was investigated systematically in this study. Among eleven cation-exchange resins tested, the Amberlite IRC-50 resin offered the best adsorption capability and the highest desorption ratio. The adsorption kinetics of IRC-50 resin with H+, Na+ and NH4 + ion forms followed a pseudo-second-order model. The dynamic adsorption and desorption parameters of ε-PL were optimized with a column packed with IRC-50 resin with Na+ and NH4 +. It is suggested that NH4 + is the optimal ion form of IRC-50 resin for ε-PL extraction. Under optimal conditions, the IRC-50 resin with NH4 + achieved the highest ε-PL adsorption capability, purity and recovery ratio of 307.96 mg g-1, 76.52% and 96.2%, respectively. After further purification, a final ε-PL purity of 97.10% was achieved with a total recovery ratio of 66.01%. This is the first report on improving the ε-PL purification efficiency through optimizing the ion form of the ion-exchange resin. Moreover, it would offer guidance for other natural product recovery processes by ion-exchange chromatography.