Anion-Sorbent Composite Separators for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries

High-Processable COF Gel Electrolyte Enabled by Side Chain Engineering for Lithium-ion Battery

Although covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with graphene-like structure present unique chemical and physical properties, they are essentially insoluble and infusible crystalline powders with poor processability, hindering their further practical applications. How to improve the processability of COF materials is a major challenge in this field. In this contribution, we proposed a general side chain engineering strategy to construct gel-state COF with high processability. This method takes advantages of large and soft branched alkyl side chains as internal plasticizers to achieve the gelation of COF, and systematically studied the influence of the length of the side chain on the COF gel formation. Benefit from their machinability and flexibility, this novel COF gel can be easily processed into gel-type electrolytes with specific sharpness and thickness, which were further applied to assemble the lithium ion batteries that exhibited high cycling stability.

Engineering Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Framework on Molecular Basis for Fast Li+ Conduction

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been proposed as emerging fillers for composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs). However, MOF particles are usually served as passive fillers that yield limited ionic conductivity improvement. Building continuous MOF reinforcements and exploiting their active roles remain challenging. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of engineering fast Li⁺ conduction within MOF on molecule conception. Two-dimensional Cu(BDC) MOF is selected as an active filler due to its sufficient accessible open metal sites for perchlorate anion anchoring to release free Li⁺, verified by theoretical calculations and measurements. A novel Cu(BDC)-scaffold-reinforced CPE is developed via in situ growth of MOF, which provides fast Li⁺ channels inside MOF and continuous Li⁺ paths along the MOF/polymer interface for high Li⁺ conductivity (ambient 0.24 mS cm^-1) and enables high mechanical strength. Stable cycling is achieved in solid-state Li-NCM811 full cell using the MOF-reinforced CPE. This molecule-basis Li⁺ conduction strategy brings new ideas for designing advanced CPEs.

Dendrite-Suppressing Polymer Materials for Safe Rechargeable Metal Battery Applications: From the Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Viewpoint of Macromolecular Design

Metal batteries have been emerging as next-generation battery systems by virtue of ultrahigh theoretical specific capacities and low reduction potentials of metallic anodes. However, significant concerns regarding the uncontrolled metallic dendrite growth accompanied by safety hazards and short lifespan have impeded practical applications of metal batteries. Although a great deal of effort has been pursued to highlight the thermodynamic origin of dendrite growth and a variety of experimental methodologies for dendrite suppression, the roles of polymer materials in suppressing the dendrite growth have been underestimated. This review aims to give a state-of-the-art overview of contemporary dendrite-suppressing polymer materials from the electro-chemo-mechanical viewpoint of macromolecular design, including i) homogeneous distribution of metal ion flux, ii) mechanical blocking of metal dendrites, iii) tailoring polymer structures, and iv) modulating the physical configuration of polymer membranes. Judiciously tailoring electro-chemo-mechanical properties of polymer materials provides virtually unlimited opportunities to afford safe and high-performance metal battery systems by resolving problematic dendrite issues. Transforming these rational design strategies into building dendrite-suppressing polymer materials and exploiting them towards polymer electrolytes, separators, and coating materials hold the key to realizing safe, dendrite-free, and long-lasting metal battery systems.

Facile Fabrication of Functionalized Separators for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Ionic Conduction Path Modifications via the γ-Ray Co-irradiation Grafting Process

Separators play a vital role in electronic insulation and ionic conduction in lithium-ion batteries. The common improvement strategy of polyolefin separators is mostly based on modifications with a coating layer, which is simple and effective to some extent. However, the improvement is often accompanied by negative effects such as the increase of the thickness and the blockage of the porous structure, resulting in the decrease of energy density and power density. The porous structure of the separators serves as a conduction path for ions to travel back and forth between the anode and cathode, which has an important impact on the performance of lithium-ion batteries. If the porous structure of the separators can be modified, it will essentially affect the ionic transport behavior through the whole conduction path. Herein, we provide a simple and effective method to functionalize the porous polyolefin separator via the γ-ray co-irradiation grafting process, where high-energy γ-ray is used to generate active sites on the polymer chain to initiate the grafting polymerization of chosen monomers with selected functional groups. In this work, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-vinyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolane, a kind of borane molecule with an electron-deficient group, was chosen as the grafting monomer. After the γ-ray co-irradiation grafting process, both the surface and pores of the polyolefin separators were functionalized by electron-deficient groups in the borane molecule and the whole electrolyte conduction path within the separator was activated. Due to the electron-deficient effect of the B atom, the lithium-ion conduction is promoted and the lithium-ion transference number can be increased to 0.5. As a result, the half-cell assembled with the functionalized separator shows better cycle stability and better capacity retention under high current rate.

Ni(OH)2 derived Ni-MOF supported on carbon nanowalls for supercapacitors

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are expected to be promising pseudocapacitve materials because of their potential redox sites and porous structures. Nevertheless, the conductivity inferiority of MOF strongly decreases their structural advantages, therefore resulting in unsatisfying electrochemical performance. Herein, we propose an efficient strategy to enhance conductivity and thus electrochemical properties, in Ni(OH)₂ is electrochemically deposited on carbon nanowalls as the precursor for oriented MOF. The synthesized vertically oriented MOF sheets show an almost triple high capacitance of 677 F g^-1 than MOF powder of 239 F g^-1 at the current density of 2 A g^-1. Correspondingly, an asymmetric supercapacitor is fabricated, which can deliver a maximum energy density of 20.7 Wh kg^-1 and a maximum power density of 23 200 W kg^-1. These promising results indicate that modulating the conductivity of MOF is the key step to pursuit upgrading electrochemical performance.

MOF derived double-carbon layers boosted the lithium/sodium storage performance of SnO2nanoparticles

Tin oxide (SnO₂) was considered as a promising alternative to commonly used graphite anode in energy storage devices thanks to its superior specific capacity. However, its electrochemical property was severely limited due to the inherent poor conductivity and drastic volume variation during the charging/discharging process. To overcome this disadvantage, we grew Sn-MOF directly on graphene oxide (GO) layers to synthesize a double carbon conductive network-encapsulated SnO₂nanoparticles (SnO₂/C/rGO) via a facile solvothermal method. During the process, Sn-MOF skeleton transformed into porous carbon shells, in which nanosized SnO₂particles (~8nm) were embedded, while GO template was reduced to highly conductive rGO layer tightly wrapping the SnO₂/C particles. This double-carbon structure endowed SnO₂/C/rGO anode with enhanced specific capacity and rate property both in lithium ion batteries (LIB) and sodium ion batteries (SIB). The SnO₂/C/rGO anode showed a highly reversible specific capacity of 1038.3 mAh g^-1at 100 mA g^-1, and maintained a stable capacity of 720.2 mAh g^-1(70.1%) under 500 mA g^-1after 150 cycles in LIBs. Similarly, highly reversible capacity of 350.7 mAh g^-1(81.1%) under 100 mA g^-1after 150 cycles was also achieved in SIBs. This work provided a promising strategy in improving the electrochemical properties of SnO₂nanoparticles (NPs), as well as other potential anode materials suffering from huge volume change and poor conductivity.

Cation-Selective Separators for Addressing the Lithium-Sulfur Battery Challenges

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have become one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage systems owing to their high theoretical energy density, environmental friendliness, and cost effectiveness. However, real-word applications are seriously restricted by an undesirable shuttle effect and Li dendrite formation. In essence, uncontrollable anion transport is a key factor that causes both polysulfide shuttling and dendrite formation, which creates the possibility of simultaneously addressing the two critical issues in LSBs. An effective strategy to control anion transport is the construction of cation-selective separators. Significant progress has been achieved in the inhibition of the shuttle effect, whereas addressing the problem of Li dendrite formation by utilizing a cation-selective separator is still under way. From this viewpoint, this Review analyzes critical issues with regard to the shuttle effect and Li dendrite formation caused by uncontrollable anion transport, based on which roles and advantages of cation-selective separators toward high-performance LSBs are presented. According to the separator-construction principle, the latest advances and progress in cation-selective separators in inhibiting the shuttle effect and Li dendrite formation are reviewed in detail. Finally, some challenges and prospects are proposed for the future development of cation-selective separators. This Review is anticipated to provide a new perspective for simultaneously addressing the two critical issues in LSBs.

Functional separators towards the suppression of lithium dendrites for rechargeable high-energy batteries

Lithium metal battery (LMB) is considered to be one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices due to the high theoretical specific capacity and the lowest redox potential of metallic lithium; however, some key issues caused by lithium dendrites on the lithium metal anode seriously hinder its real-world applications. As an indispensable part of LMBs, the separator could serve as a physical barrier to prevent direct contact of the two electrodes and control ionic transport in batteries; it is an ideal platform for the suppression of lithium dendrites. In this review, the mechanism of lithium dendrite nucleation and growth are firstly discussed and then some advanced techniques are introduced for the precise characterization of lithium dendrites. On the basis of dendritic nucleation and growth principle, several feasible strategies are summarized for suppressing lithium dendrites by utilizing functional separators, including providing a mechanical barrier, promoting homogeneous lithium deposition, and regulating ionic transport. Finally, some challenges and prospects are proposed to clear the future development of functional separators. We anticipate that this paper will provide a new insight into the design and construction of functional separators for addressing the issues of lithium dendrites in high-energy batteries.

Guiding uniform Zn deposition by cocoons for long-life Zn metal batteries

The interlaced carbon membranes are prepared using silk cocoons via high-temperature sintering processes and has been assembled in symmetric zinc batteries to successfully inhibit the dendrite growth.

Semiliquid electrolytes with anion-adsorbing metal-organic frameworks for high-rate lithium batteries

Adding particles of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) into liquid electrolytes leads to semiliquid electrolytes, where nanoporous MOFs enclose anions while facilitating lithium-ion conduction. The improved transport efficiency of lithium-ions in semiliquid electrolytes boosts effective reaction kinetics, mitigates polarization, and produces affinitive electrolyte-electrode interfaces, which afford enhanced cycle durability for high-rate lithium batteries.

Nanopile Interlocking Separator Coating toward Uniform Li Deposition of the Li Metal Anodes

Uncontrollable growth of lithium (Li) dendrite has severely hindered the development of Li metal anodes, while separator modification is regarded as a simple and effective way to mitigate the growth of Li dendrite. However, the "drop-dregs" phenomenon of coating layer desquamated from polyolefin separator due to their different Young's modulus would induce a nonuniform Li ionic flux, finally resulting in deteriorative electrochemical performance and even thermal runaway of the battery. Herein, we introduce a novel nanopile mechanical interlocking strategy to create delamination-free separator modification, which could stably generate a homogeneous Li ionic flux to guide long-term uniform Li deposition. Both experimental and simulation results demonstrate a strong bonding strength between the coating layer and membrane matrix based on this physical interlocking mechanism. Consequently, with a nearly dendrite-free Li deposition and a largely reduced interface impedance, 1000 h stable cycling of Li/Li half cells enrolled this modified separator is successfully achieved. Also, a significant improvement in Li/LiFePO₄ full cells in long-term cycling stability to 500 cycles further indicates its promising practical potential. Moreover, this presented approach without any binding agents or surface activation procedures could be facilely scaled up, providing an applicable and durable separator modification solution toward stable Li metal anodes.

Class of Solid-like Electrolytes for Rechargeable Batteries Based on Metal-Organic Frameworks Infiltrated with Liquid Electrolytes

A new family of solid-like electrolytes was developed by infiltrating MIL-100(Al), an electrochemically stable metal-organic-framework (MOF) material, with liquid electrolytes that contain cations from the 3rd period (Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Al³⁺) and the 1st group (Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, and Cs⁺). The anions were immobilized within the MOF scaffolds upon complexing with the open metal sites, allowing effective transport of the cations in the nanoporous channels with high conductivity (up to 1 mS cm^-1) and low activation energy (down to 0.2 eV). This general approach enables the fabrication of superior conductive solid-like electrolytes beyond lithium ions.

Nanochannels regulating ionic transport for boosting electrochemical energy storage and conversion: a review

Electrochemical power sources, as one of the most promising energy storage and conversion technologies, provide great opportunities for developing high energy density electrochemical devices and portable electronics. However, uncontrolled ionic transport in electrochemical energy conversion, typically undesired anion transfer, usually causes some issues degrading the performance of energy storage devices. Nanochannels offer an effective strategy to solve the ionic transport problems for boosting electrochemical energy storage and conversion. In this review, the advantages of nanochannels for electrochemical energy storage and conversion and the construction principle of nanochannels are introduced, including ion selectivity and ultrafast ion transmission of nanochannels, which are considered as two critical factors to achieve highly efficient energy conversion. Recent advances in applications of nanochannels in lithium secondary batteries (LSBs), electrokinetic energy conversion systems and concentration cells are summarized in detail. Nanochannels exist in the above systems in two typical forms: functional separator and electrode protective layer. Current research on nanochannel-based LSBs is still at the early stage, and deeper and broader applications are expected in the future. Finally, the remaining challenges of nanochannel fabrication, performance improvement, and intelligent construction are presented. It is envisioned that this paper will provide new insights for developing high-performance and versatile energy storage electronics based on nanochannels.

Electrolyte Membranes with Biomimetic Lithium-Ion Channels

High-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) demand efficient and selective transport of lithium ions. Inspired by ion channels in biology systems, lithium-ion channels are constructed by chemically modifying the nanoporous channels of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with negatively charged sulfonate groups. Analogous to the biological ion channels, such pendant anionic moieties repel free anions while allowing efficient transport of cations through the pore channels. Implementing such MOFs as an electrolyte membrane doubly enhances the lithium-ion transference number, alleviates concentration polarization, and affords striking durability of high-rate LIBs. This work demonstrates an ion-selective material design that effectively tunes the ion-transport behavior and could assist with more efficient operation of LIBs.

Interface Engineering of Silicon/Carbon Thin-Film Anodes for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries

Silicon is one of the most promising alternative active materials for next-generation lithium-ion battery (LIB) applications due to its advantage of high specific capacity. However, the enormous volume variations during lithiation/delithiation still remain to be an obstacle to commercialization. In this work, binder-free pure silicon and silicon/carbon (Si/C) multilayer thin-film electrodes, prepared by scalable one-step magnetron sputtering, are systematically investigated by an interlayer strategy. Herein, we present a rationally structural modification by an amorphous carbon film to enhance the electrical conductivity, mechanical integrity, and electrochemical performance of Si film-based LIBs. Therefore, to maintain the consistency of the direct-contact layer with the electrolyte and current collection, symmetrical Si/C/Si and Si/C/Si/C/Si/C/Si electrodes are deliberately designed to study the influence of embedded carbon. An anode with a carbon content of 10.38 wt % yields an initial discharge specific capacity of 1888.74 mAh g^-1 and a capacity retention of 96.82% (1243.56 mAh g^-1) after 150 cycles at a high current density of 4000 mA g^-1. It also shows that the best rate capability remains 96.0% of the initial capacity in the 70th cycle. At last, three mechanisms are proposed for an in-depth understanding of the interface effect. This work offers a new perspective scheme toward Si/C-based LIBs with a capability of high rate and high energy density.

A Powder Metallurgic Approach toward High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

The development of lithium metal anodes capable of sustaining large volume changes, avoiding lithium dendrite formation, and remaining stable in ambient air is crucial for commercially viable lithium metal batteries. Toward this goal, the fabrication of porous and lithiophilic copper scaffolds via a powder metallurgy strategy is reported. Infiltrating the scaffolds with molten lithium followed by exposure to Freon R134a produces lithium metal anodes with dramatically improved rate performance and cycling stability. This work provides a simple yet effective route for the fabrication of safe, low-cost lithium metal batteries with high energy density.

Constructing a Super-Saturated Electrolyte Front Surface for Stable Rechargeable Aqueous Zinc Batteries

Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries (RAZB) have been re-evaluated because of the superiority in addressing safety and cost concerns. Nonetheless, the limited lifespan arising from dendritic electrodeposition of metallic Zn hinders their further development. Herein, a metal-organic framework (MOF) was constructed as front surface layer to maintain a super-saturated electrolyte layer on the Zn anode. Raman spectroscopy indicated that the highly coordinated ion complexes migrating through the MOF channels were different from the solvation structure in bulk electrolyte. Benefiting from the unique super-saturated front surface, symmetric Zn cells survived up to 3000 hours at 0.5 mA cm^-2 , near 55-times that of bare Zn anodes. Moreover, aqueous MnO₂ -Zn batteries delivered a reversible capacity of 180.3 mAh g^-1 and maintained a high capacity retention of 88.9 % after 600 cycles with MnO₂ mass loading up to 4.2 mg cm^-2 .

Electrospinning of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Energy and Environmental Applications

Herein, recent developments of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) structured into nanofibers by electrospinning are summarized, including the fabrication, post-treatment via pyrolysis, properties, and use of the resulting MOF nanofiber architectures. The fabrication and post-treatment of the MOF nanofiber architectures are described systematically by two routes: i) the direct electrospinning of MOF-polymer nanofiber composites, and ii) the surface decoration of nanofiber structures with MOFs. The unique properties and performance of the different types of MOF nanofibers and their derivatives are explained in respect to their use in energy and environmental applications, including air filtration, water treatment, gas storage and separation, electrochemical energy conversion and storage, and heterogeneous catalysis. Finally, challenges with the fabrication of MOF nanofibers, limitations for their use, and trends for future developments are presented.

High-Performance Metal-Organic Framework-Based Single Ion Conducting Solid-State Electrolytes for Low-Temperature Lithium Metal Batteries

Single-ionic conducting electrolytes are important for the improvement of lithium metal batteries with high energy density and safety. Herein, we propose a new strategy to anchor a large anionic group on the skeleton of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and achieve preeminent single-ionic conducting electrolytes. Utilizing a postsynthetic modification method, the trifluoromethanesulfonyl group is covalently coordinated to the amino groups of the UiO-66-NH₂ framework. Such a single-ionic conducting solid-state electrolyte (SSE) has a high ionic conductivity (2.07 × 10^-4 S cm^-1 at 25 °C), a low activation energy of 0.31 eV, a wide electrochemical window up to 4.52 V, as well as a high Li⁺ transference number of 0.84. Simultaneously, it can effectively inhibit the formation of lithium dendrite. Solid-state batteries assembled with LiFePO₄ as the cathode exhibit outstanding rate performance and cyclic stability, especially for low-temperature Li-metal batteries at 0 °C with trace amounts of propylene carbonate as wetting agents. More importantly, the corresponding all-solid-state batteries based on an MOF-based SSE also have nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency at different current densities.

Development and Applications of MOFs Derivative One-Dimensional Nanofibers via Electrospinning: A Mini-Review

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been exploited for various applications in science and engineering due to the possibility of forming different mesoscopic frameworks and pore structures. To date, further development of MOFs for practical applications in areas such as energy storage and conversion have encountered tremendous challenge owing to the unitary porous structure (almost filled entirely with micropores) and conventional morphology (e.g., sphere, polyhedron, and rod shape). More recently, one-dimensional (1D) MOFs/nanofibers composites emerged as a new molecular system with highly engineered novel structures for tailored applications. In this mini-review, the recent progress in the development of MOFs-based 1D nanofibers via electrospinning will be elaborated. In particular, the promising applications and underlying molecular mechanism of electrospun MOF-derived carbon nanofibers are primarily focused and analyzed here. This review is instrumental in providing certain guiding principles for the preparation and structural analysis of MOFs/electrospun nanofibers (M-NFs) composites and electrospun MOF-derived nanomaterials.