Energy storage was realized on the interfaces between Fe and Li3PO4 nanograins in situ fabricated by discharging commercial LiFePO4 to 0.005 V vs Li+/Li. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicate that both the metallic Fe and Li3PO4 nanocrystallites are stable up to 4.2 V. The solid electrolyte interphase layer on the nanocomposite does not decompose until 1.7 V according to infrared spectroscopic analysis. The Fe/Li3PO4 nanocomposite stores up to 220 mAh g−1 of lithium without any electrochemical reactions. This is a purely lithium storage behavior distinct from that on the electrodes of supercapacitors or traditional secondary batteries.

Nanorods of MnO2, Mn3O4, Mn2O3 and MnO are synthesized by hydrothermal reactions and subsequent annealing. It is shown that though different oxides experience distinct phase transition processes in the initial discharge, metallic Mn and Li2O are the end products of discharge, while MnO is the end product of recharge for all these oxides between 0.0 and 3.0 V vs. Li+/Li. Of these 4 manganese oxides, MnO is believed the most promising anode material for lithium ion batteries while MnO2 is the most promising cathode material for secondary lithium batteries.

The reasons of capacity fading during cycling process of LiMn2O4/LixV2O5 lithium ion cell with 5 M LiNO3 aqueous solution as electrolyte were investigated. XRD and ICP results showed that the properties of the anode have more impact on the cycle life of the cell. In an attempt to improve the cycle performance of the as-assembled cell, coating with an ionic conductive polypyrrole (PPy) on the surface of the anode was proposed via in situ polymerization method. Cycling tests revealed that the stability of the lithium ion cell with surface coated anode has been greatly improved. Moreover, the capability of the cell with coated anode was also enhanced compared with the cell with bare anode.

Some polyanionic compounds, e.g. TiP2O7 and LiTi2(PO4)3 with 3D framework structure were proposed to be used as anodes of lithium ion battery with aqueous electrolyte. The cyclic voltammetry properties TiP2O7 and LiTi2(PO4)3 suggested that Li-ion de/intercalation reaction can occur without serious hydrogen evolution in 5 M LiNO3 aqueous solution. The TiP2O7 and LiTi2(PO4)3 give capacities of about 80 mAh/g between potentials of −0.50 V and 0 V (versus SHE) and 90 mAh/g between −0.65 V and −0.10 V (versus SHE), respectively. A test cell consisting of TiP2O7/5 M LiNO3/LiMn2O4 delivers approximately 42 mAh/g (weight of cathode and anode) at average voltage of 1.40 V, and LiTi2(PO4)3/5 M LiNO3/LiMn2O4 delivers approximately 45 mAh/g at average voltage of 1.50 V. Both as-assembled cells suffered from short cycle life. The capacity fading may be related to deterioration of anode material.

Porous flowerlike CeO2 microspheres were synthesized via a novel hydrothermal method and were used as supports for the oxidation of CO. After loaded with Au or CuO, it exhibited an excellent low-temperature catalytic activity toward CO oxidation reaction. Especially, for the Au-loaded flowerlike CeO2 microsphere catalyst, CO gas started its conversion into CO2 above 80% at room temperature. The possible reasons for the superior catalytic activity of flowerlike CeO2 microsphere catalysts were discussed.

Single-crystalline α-MnO2 nanorods have been prepared by reducing KMnO4 with graphite in concentrated H2SO4 solution at 0 °C. Hydrothermal treatment of the α-MnO2 nanorods at 100 °C results in the formation of single-phase γ-MnOOH nanorods. The structure and morphology of the α-MnO2 and γ-MnOOH are characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively.

A molten salt electrolyte composed of lithium triflate (LiCF3SO3) and acetamide (CH3CONH2) has been prepared and characterized by IR, Raman spectroscopy and ac impedance. It is interesting that although both lithium triflate and acetamide are solid, their mixture is a liquid in an appropriate molar ratio range at room temperature. The IR and Raman spectroscopic studies show that the Li+ ions coordinate with the CO group of acetamide while the SO3 group of CF3SO3− anions interacts with the NH2 group of acetamide via hydrogen bonding. Such interactions lead to the breakage of the hydrogen bonds between acetamide molecules and the weakening the Coulombic interaction between the anions and cations of lithium triflate, resulting in the formation of the molten salt. The behavior of ionic transport obeys well the empirical Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher (VTF) type relationship for the molten salt electrolyte. The ionic conductivities of the LiCF3SO3/acetamide complex with different molar ratios depend strongly on the ionic species in the complex system. Among them, the complex at a molar ratio of 1:5 shows the highest ionic conductivity due to the relatively high amount of “free” ions at room temperature.

Abnormal salt content dependence of conductivity is observed in solid electrolytes exclusively composed of small molecules of 3-hydroxypropionitrile (HPN) and lithium iodide (LiI) induced by reinforced hydrogen bonding and formation of ionic clusters at high salt content.

In order to study the dynamic properties of LixMn2O4, potential relaxation techniques (PRT) is used to measure the chemical diffusion coefficient of LixMn2O4. Results are presented for x ranges from x=0.1 to 0.9. They show that the chemical diffusion coefficient at the two-phase coexistent stage near x=0.3 and 0.7 is higher than at the single-phase stage during the insertion and extraction process. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are also used to simulate the ionic conductivity σ of Li ions in LixMn2O4 and its dependence as a function of lithium concentration x. The results show an M shaped curve in the plot of ionic conductivity σ versus x when the simulation temperature is 293 K, which confirms the experimental PRT results. The voltage profiles of LixMn2O4/Li cells were also simulated with different boundary conditions.

Nano-silver particles were deposited on graphitized mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) with a low coverage by a wet chemical method. It was found that the existence of nano-Ag boosted the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film on the surface of MCMB in propylene carbonate (PC)-based electrolyte. Consequently, a reversible lithium intercalation/deintercalation process was observed. It is shown from the preliminary result that the deposition of nano-silver particles on MCMB has improved the cycling performance of MCMB/Li cell in PC-based electrolyte.