Mildly reduced less defective graphene oxide/sulfur/carbon nanotube composite films for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries.

The microstructures and properties of the carbonaceous matrices in the cathodes of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have strong effects on their performances. We prepared a ternary composite cathode of mildly reduced less defective graphene oxide (mrLGO), sulfur, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by filtration for Li-S batteries. This battery showed a high initial specific capacity of 1219 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 C and a stable specific capacity of around 1000 mA h g(-1) after 200 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 99%. Its excellent performance is mainly attributed to the good conductivity and residual oxygen containing groups of mrLGO, and the three-dimensional (3D) framework constructed using mrLGO sheets and CNTs.

An ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from WO3 nanodiscs/reduced graphene oxide composite material.

A high sensitivity, fast ultraviolet (UV) photodetector was fabricated from WO3 nanodiscs (NDs)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite material. The WO3 NDs/reduced GO composite material was synthesized using a facile three-step synthesis procedure. First, the Na2WO4/GO precursor was synthesized by homogeneous precipitation. Second, the Na2WO4/GO precursor was transformed into Na2WO4/GO composites by acidification. Finally, the Na2WO4/GO composites were reduced to WO3 NDs/RGO via a hydrothermal reduction process. The UV photodetector showed a fast transient response and high responsivity, which are attributed to the improved carrier transport and collection efficiency through graphene. The excellent material properties of the WO3 NDs/RGO composite demonstrated in this work may open up new possibilities for using WO3 NDs/RGO for future optoelectronic applications.

Enhanced ultraviolet emission from poly(vinyl alcohol) ZnO nanoparticles using a SiO2-Au core/shell structure.

Enhanced near band gap edge (NBE) emissions of PVA-ZnO nanoparticles were achieved by employing SiO(2)-Au core/shell nanostructures whereas the defect-level emission (DLE) is greatly suppressed. A maximum enhancement of nearly 400% was observed using SiO(2)-Au for the emission with optical resonance at 554 nm. SiO(2)-Au core/shell nanostructures also show a superior tunability of resonance energy as compared to that of the pure metal nanoparticles. The enhancement of the NBE emission and suppressed DLE is ascribed to the transfer of the energetic electrons excited by surface plasmon from metal nanoparticles to the conduction band of ZnO nanoparticles.

Flexible pillared graphene-paper electrodes for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors.

Flexible graphene paper (GP) pillared by carbon black (CB) nanoparticles using a simple vacuum filtration method is developed as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors. Through the introduction of CB nanoparticles as spacers, the self-restacking of graphene sheets during the filtration process is mitigated to a great extent. The pillared GP-based supercapacitors exhibit excellent electrochemical performances and cyclic stabilities compared with GP without the addition of CB nanoparticles. At a scan rate of 10 mV s(-1) , the specific capacitance of the pillared GP is 138 F g(-1) and 83.2 F g(-1) with negligible 3.85% and 4.35% capacitance degradation after 2000 cycles in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. At an extremely fast scan rate of 500 mV s (-1) , the specific capacitance can reach 80 F g(-1) in aqueous electrolyte. No binder is needed for assembling the supercapacitor cells and the pillared GP itself may serve as a current collector due to its intrinsic high electrical conductivity. The pillared GP has great potential in the development of promising flexible and ultralight-weight supercapacitors for electrochemical energy storage.

Flexible, Electrically Conductive, Nanostructured, Asymmetric Aerogel Films for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries are afflicted with capacity fading on account of polysulfide shuttling. A novel cost-effective electrode that can hinder the polysulfide shuttling and realize high active material utilization is highly required. Here, we demonstrate a flexible, electrically conductive, nanostructured, and asymmetric hybrid cathode by integrating a high-aspect-ratio wood nanocellulose and a low-cost commercial carbon nanotube (∼$ 0.2 g-1) into an entangled aerogel film. The vacuum filtration combined with lyophilization enables the aerogel film with quite different nanofiber/nanotube packing densities and pore structures at its two sides. The cooperative effects of the entangled building blocks and the asymmetric porous structure of the aerogel film stimulate the simultaneous increase of active sulfur loading, enhancing the electrolyte penetration, alleviating dissolution and shuttling of polysulfide ions, and promoting the fast electron transportation. The as-generated cathode exhibited a capacity fading of 0.01% per cycle over 1000 discharge/charge cycles at a 0.5 C rate (1 C = 1675 mA g-1). The average Coulombic efficiency reached ∼99.7%.

Dual-protection of a graphene-sulfur composite by a compact graphene skin and an atomic layer deposited oxide coating for a lithium-sulfur battery.

A reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-sulfur composite aerogel with a compact self-assembled rGO skin was further modified by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ZnO or MgO layer, and used as a free-standing electrode material of a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery. The rGO skin and ALD-oxide coating worked as natural and artificial barriers to constrain the polysulfides within the cathode region. As a result, the Li-S battery based on this electrode material exhibited superior cycling stability, good rate capability and high coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, ALD-ZnO coating was tested for performance improvement and found to be more effective than ALD-MgO coating. The ZnO modified G-S electrode with 55 wt% sulfur loading delivered a maximum discharge capacity of 998 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 0.2 C. A high capacity of 846 mA h g(-1) was achieved after charging/discharging for 100 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of over 92%. In the case of using LiNO3 as a shuttle inhibitor, this electrode showed an initial discharge capacity of 796 mA h g(-1) and a capacity retention of 81% after 250 cycles at a current density of 1 C with an average coulombic efficiency higher than 99.7%.

An alumina stabilized ZnO-graphene anode for lithium ion batteries via atomic layer deposition.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was applied to deposit ZnO on graphene aerogel, and this composite was used as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. This electrode material was further modified by an ultrathin Al2O3 layer via ALD to stabilize its electrochemical stability. These two metal oxides were uniformly immobilized on graphene frameworks, and the Al2O3 coating strongly improved the electrochemical performances of ZnO-graphene aerogel composite anodes. Particularly, the composite with 10 ALD cycles of Al2O3 coating (denoted as ZnO-G-10) exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 1513 mA h g(-1) and maintained a reversible capacity of 490 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1). Furthermore, the capacity retention rate increased from 70% to 90% in comparison with its uncoated counterpart after 100 cycles. The ZnO-G-10 anode also showed good rate-capability, delivering a discharge capacity of 415 mA h g(-1) at 1000 mA g(-1). The improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the formation of an artificial solid electrolyte interphase layer, stabilizing ZnO and the electrolyte by preventing the aggregation of Zn/ZnO nanograins and the side reaction that would cause the degradation of anodes.

High-performance ultraviolet photodetector based on organic-inorganic hybrid structure.

An ultraviolet (UV) photodetector is fabricated by sandwiching a nanocomposite active layer between charge-selective semiconducting polymers. The nanocomposite active layer composed of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) blended with 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene (mCP), which acts as a "valve" controller that enables hole injection into the device upon UV illumination. The UV photodetector demonstrated a high photocurrent to dark current ratio (∼10(4)), a large linear dynamic range of 60 dB, and a remarkable external quantum efficiency (∼8.5 × 10(4)%) for the UV light at 351 nm. In addition to discussing the performance of the UV photodetector, a general strategy for design and fabrication of high-performance UV photodetectors with hole injection operation mode is suggested.

High-rate lithiation-induced reactivation of mesoporous hollow spheres for long-lived lithium-ion batteries.

Mechanical and chemical degradations of high-capacity anodes, resulting from lithiation-induced stress accumulation, volume expansion and pulverization, and unstable solid-electrolyte interface formation, represent major mechanisms of capacity fading, limiting the lifetime of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Here we report that the mechanical degradation on cycling can be deliberately controlled to finely tune mesoporous structure of the metal oxide sphere and optimize stable solid-electrolyte interface by high-rate lithiation-induced reactivation. The reactivated Co3O4 hollow sphere exhibits a reversible capacity above its theoretical value (924 mAh g(-1) at 1.12 C), enhanced rate performance and a cycling stability without capacity fading after 7,000 cycles at a high rate of 5.62 C. In contrast to the conventional approach of mitigating mechanical degradation and capacity fading of anodes using nanostructured materials, high-rate lithiation-induced reactivation offers a new perspective in designing high-performance electrodes for long-lived lithium-ion batteries.

High responsivity, fast ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from ZnO nanoparticle-graphene core-shell structures.

We report a simple, efficient and versatile method for assembling metal oxide nanomaterial-graphene core-shell structures. An ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from the ZnO nanoparticle-graphene core-shell structures showed high responsivity and fast transient response, which are attributed to the improved carrier transport efficiency arising from graphene encapsulation.

Heterojunction photodiode fabricated from hydrogen treated ZnO nanowires grown on p-silicon substrate.

A heterojunction photodiode was fabricated from ZnO nanowires (NWs) grown on a p-type Si (100) substrate using a hydrothermal method. Post growth hydrogen treatment was used to improve the conductivity of the ZnO NWs. The heterojunction photodiode showed diode characteristics with low reverse saturation current (5.58 × 10(-7) A), relatively fast transient response, and high responsivity (22 A/W at 363 nm). Experiments show that the photoresponsivity of the photodiode is dependent on the polarity of the voltages. The photoresponsivity of the device was discussed in terms of the band diagrams of the heterojunction and the carrier diffusion process.