In this context, we firstly synthesized a novel nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon material from renewable biological cells through a facile chemical activation with K2CO3. After sulfur impregnation, the carbon/sulfur composite achieved a sulfur content of about 67 wt%. The C/S composite as the cathode of lithium–sulfur batteries exhibited a discharge capacity of 1410 mAh/g and good capacity retention of 912 mAh/g at 0.1C. These outstanding results were attributed to the synergy effect of microporous carbon and natural doping nitrogen atoms. We believe that the facile approach for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon from the low-cost and sustainable biological resources will not only be applied in lithium–sulfur batteries, but also in other electrode materials.A novel nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon material from renewable biological cells was synthesized through a facile chemical activation with K2CO3, and employed as sulfur stabilizers for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries.

High performance transparent conductive cellulose-based nanopaper (TCCNP) with long-term durability is a predominant alternative for the upscale production of next-generation green flexible electronics. Here, dual-layered TCCNP with excellent mechanical robustness and chemical stability was successfully assembled by tight binding between the mussel-inspired polydopamine functionalized nanofibrillated cellulose (PDA@NFC) substrate and the silver nanowire (AgNW) layer. The highly adhesive PDA coatings on the NFC surface uniformly connected AgNW networks and simultaneously soldered the wire-to-wire junctions, thus dramatically increasing the overall electrical conductivity. The as-prepared TCCNP possesses exceptional optoelectronic properties with an optical transmittance of 90.93% at a wavelength of 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 14.2 Ω sq−1. Meanwhile, the TCCNP displays excellent mechanical stability with negligible changes in optoelectronic performances even after 1000 bending cycles and 100 peeling tests. Furthermore, the TCCNP exhibits outstanding air and chemical corrosion stabilities after being exposed to air for 150 days or immersed in different solutions for 180 min, and its transparent conductive performance remains constant close to its initial values, which is superior to those of NFC–AgNW TCCNP without PDA or the commercial ITO/PET transparent conductive films (TCFs). More importantly, the ease of disposal of TCCNP and its good stability can greatly contribute to its application in multifunctional electronic and photoelectric flexible devices.

Correction for ‘From anisotropic graphene aerogels to electron- and photo-driven phase change composites’ by Guangyong Li et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 17042–17049.

Chemical and electrochemical corrosion of a support limits the corresponding catalyst's performance and lifetime. In this paper, uniform TiN nanotubes are synthesized via coaxial-electrospinning, thermal oxidation and nitridation. The average diameter of nanotubes can be facilely controlled by tuning the parameters of coaxial electrospinning. The TiN nanotubes are modified further with Pt nanoparticles as Pt/TiN NT electrocatalysts. After accelerated durability tests, the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and mass activity of the Pt/TiN decrease by only 6% and 14% respectively, while those of the Pt/C decrease by 44% and 46.2% respectively. The enhanced activity is attributed to the strong interaction between the Pt nanoparticles and the TiN support, which is confirmed by the X-ray dispersive spectra of Pt 4f.

In this study, a lithium-rich layered 0.4Li2MnO3·0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 nanotube cathode synthesized by novel electrospinning is reported, and the effects of temperature on the electrochemical performance and morphologies are investigated. The crystal structure is characterized by X-ray diffraction patterns, and refined by two sets of diffraction data (R-3m and C2/m). Refined crystal structure is 0.4Li2MnO3·0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 composite. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer and thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis measurement supply reference to optimize the calcination temperature and heat-treatment time. The morphology is characterized by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscope techniques, and the micro-nanostructured hollow tubes of Li-rich 0.4Li2MnO3·0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 composite with outer diameter of 200–400 nm and the wall thickness of 50–80 nm are synthesized successfully. The electrochemical evaluation shows that 0.4Li2MnO3·0.6LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 sintered at 800 °C for 8 h delivers the highest capacity of the first discharge capacity of 267.7 mAh/g between 2.5 V and 4.8 V at 0.1C and remains 183.3 mAh/g after 50 cycles. The electrospinning method with heat-treatment to get micro-nanostructured lithium-rich cathode shows promising application in lithium-ion batteries with stable electrochemical performance and higher C-rate performance for its shorter Li ions transfer channels and stable designed structure.

•xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 rapidly synthesized by microwave-hydrothermal method.•The sample appears spherical morphology composed of primary spherical nanoparticles.•Discharge capacity reaches to 325 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and present good cycle performance.•MH temperature and time play important roles in electrochemical properties of sample.Li-rich layer-structure xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) cathode materials have been synthesized by co-precipitation and microwave hydrothermal (MH) method in a short time (∼60 min). The crystal structure is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, and refined by two sets of diffraction data (R-3m and C2/m). The morphology is characterized by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (SEM and HRTEM) which shows the average particle size (50–100 nm). The charge/discharge results indicate xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (x = 0.4) synthesized at 180 °C for 60 min has the best discharge capacity and cyclic performance. Within the cut-off voltage between 2.5 and 4.8 V, the initial discharge capacity is 325 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C rate; and after 50 cycles the discharge capacity remains 234.5 mA h g−1. The xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 prepared by facile and rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MH) is a promising preparation method in cathode material for lithium ion batteries.

Recently, improvement on cycling stability and rate performance were reported when the electrode materials were supported by graphene. In this work, we report the approaches for fabricating a nano-structure Li3V2(PO4)3/carbon with conventional carbon-coating and Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene with graphene sheets supporting the composite. The crystal structure and morphology, the lithium diffusion behavior and high rates capacities of pure LVP, composites of LVP with conventional carbon and graphene sheets are studied in detail. The conventional carbon or some LVP particles are separately aggregated without effectively compounding with each other, but there is a more efficient carbon coating by graphene because the LVP nanoparticles are grown on or are enwrapped into a 2D network of graphene layers. Minor graphene contained in the Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene nanocomposite can result in a reduction of crystal size, a large surface area, an increase in conductivity (three orders of magnitude), and great improvement in the rate performance and cycling stability. We proposed an effective carbon coating (ECC) model of microstructure of LVP nanoparticles compounded with carbon or graphene to discuss the key roles of graphene on the great improvement of electrochemical performance. It should offer a new idea in the design and synthesis of battery electrodes based on carbon-coated technology.

Anticorrosive behaviors of 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (AMT) on a cobalt film electrode surface were comparatively studied by means of electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The anticorrosion ability of AMT on a Co electrode in a neutral solution was confirmed at the macroscopic level. The adsorption geometry of AMT and the inhibition mechanism were further investigated by in situ electrochemical surface-enhanced infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering techniques. Free and adsorbed AMT information by theoretical calculations provided the powerful supports for the assignments of the bands and the establishment of the adsorption configurations. The results implied that the adsorbed AMT molecules were bonded to the Co electrode surface via the S1, S6, and N7 atoms at a small angle, with their ring planes tilted to the local surface at the potential negative of −0.4 V (vs SCE). At the potential positive to −0.2 V (vs SCE) or open circuit potential, AMT probably adsorbed on the Co surface with its molecular plane perpendicular to the surface through both S atoms as a transition state, and AMT molecules may finally function with the Co surface via N3 and N7 atoms as a vertical orientation with respect to the surface at 0 V (vs SCE). These compact barrier layers on the metal surface had great inhibition effects.

Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene nanocomposites have been firstly formed on reduced graphene sheets as cathode material for lithium batteries. The nanocomposites synthesized by the sol–gel process exhibit excellent high-rate and cycling stability performance, owing to the nanoparticles connected with a current collector through the conducting graphene network.

Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene nanocomposites have been firstly formed on reduced graphene sheets as cathode material for lithium batteries. The nanocomposites synthesized by the sol–gel process exhibit excellent high-rate and cycling stability performance, owing to the nanoparticles connected with a current collector through the conducting graphene network.

Recently, improvement on cycling stability and rate performance were reported when the electrode materials were supported by graphene. In this work, we report the approaches for fabricating a nano-structure Li3V2(PO4)3/carbon with conventional carbon-coating and Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene with graphene sheets supporting the composite. The crystal structure and morphology, the lithium diffusion behavior and high rates capacities of pure LVP, composites of LVP with conventional carbon and graphene sheets are studied in detail. The conventional carbon or some LVP particles are separately aggregated without effectively compounding with each other, but there is a more efficient carbon coating by graphene because the LVP nanoparticles are grown on or are enwrapped into a 2D network of graphene layers. Minor graphene contained in the Li3V2(PO4)3/graphene nanocomposite can result in a reduction of crystal size, a large surface area, an increase in conductivity (three orders of magnitude), and great improvement in the rate performance and cycling stability. We proposed an effective carbon coating (ECC) model of microstructure of LVP nanoparticles compounded with carbon or graphene to discuss the key roles of graphene on the great improvement of electrochemical performance. It should offer a new idea in the design and synthesis of battery electrodes based on carbon-coated technology.

High performance transparent conductive cellulose-based nanopaper (TCCNP) with long-term durability is a predominant alternative for the upscale production of next-generation green flexible electronics. Here, dual-layered TCCNP with excellent mechanical robustness and chemical stability was successfully assembled by tight binding between the mussel-inspired polydopamine functionalized nanofibrillated cellulose (PDA@NFC) substrate and the silver nanowire (AgNW) layer. The highly adhesive PDA coatings on the NFC surface uniformly connected AgNW networks and simultaneously soldered the wire-to-wire junctions, thus dramatically increasing the overall electrical conductivity. The as-prepared TCCNP possesses exceptional optoelectronic properties with an optical transmittance of 90.93% at a wavelength of 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 14.2 Ω sq−1. Meanwhile, the TCCNP displays excellent mechanical stability with negligible changes in optoelectronic performances even after 1000 bending cycles and 100 peeling tests. Furthermore, the TCCNP exhibits outstanding air and chemical corrosion stabilities after being exposed to air for 150 days or immersed in different solutions for 180 min, and its transparent conductive performance remains constant close to its initial values, which is superior to those of NFC–AgNW TCCNP without PDA or the commercial ITO/PET transparent conductive films (TCFs). More importantly, the ease of disposal of TCCNP and its good stability can greatly contribute to its application in multifunctional electronic and photoelectric flexible devices.

To overcome fatal shortcomings of organic phase change materials (PCMs), such as leakage during work, low thermal conductivity and shortage of multiple driving ways, we propose a novel strategy to synthesize structurally, mechanically, electrically and optically anisotropic graphene aerogels (AN-GAs) by using gaseous hydrogen chloride to in situ solidify ordered graphene oxide liquid crystals followed by chemical reduction, supercritical fluid drying and annealing in an Ar atmosphere in sequence. The confined pore space and aligned wall structure of the resulting AN-GAs have benefited crystallization of organic phase change molecules and thus highly efficient phase change composites (PCCs) are fabricated with long durability and good strength. The resulting PCCs can also be driven either by applying a small voltage (1–3 V) with high electro-heat efficiency (up to 85%) or by irradiating with weak sunlight (0.8–1.0 sun) with high photo-heat efficiency (up to 77%).

Correction for ‘From anisotropic graphene aerogels to electron- and photo-driven phase change composites’ by Guangyong Li et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 17042–17049.