Effect of Lorentz force on the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries

Synthesis of FeOOH/Zn(OH)2/CoS Ferromagnetic Nanocomposites and the Enhanced Mechanism of Magnetic Field for Their Electrochemical Performances

The FeOOH/Zn(OH)2/CoS (FZC) nanocomposites are synthesized and show the outstanding electrochemical properties in both supercapacitor and catalytic hydrogen production. The specific area capacitance reaches 17.04 F cm-2, which is more than ten times higher than that of FeOOH/Zn(OH)2 (FZ) substrate: 1.58 F cm-2). FZC nanocomposites also exhibit the excellent cycling stability with an initial capacity retention rate of 93.6% after 10 000 long-term cycles. The electrolytic cell (FZC//FZC) assembled with FZC as both anode and cathode in the UOR (urea oxidation reaction)|| HER (hydrogen evolution reaction) coupled system requires a cell voltage of only 1.453 V to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Especially, the electrochemical performances of FZC nanocomposites are enhanced in magnetic field, and the mechanism is proposed based on Stern double layer model at electrode-electrolyte interface (EEI). More electrolyte ions reach the surface of FZC electrode material under Kelvin force, moreover, the warburg impedance of FZC nanocomposites decrease under magnetic field action, which results in the enhanced behaviors for both the energy storage and urea oxidation reaction .

Electrostatic Fields Promote Methanogenesis More than Polarized Bioelectrodes in Anaerobic Reactors with Conductive Materials

Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) is a breakthrough that can surpass the limitations of anaerobic digestion. Conductive materials and polarized bioelectrodes are known to induce DIET for methane production but are still challenging to apply at a field scale. Herein, compared to polarized bioelectrodes, electrostatic fields that promote DIET were investigated in an anaerobic reactor with conductive materials. As a conductive material, activated carbon enriched its surface with electroactive microorganisms to induce DIET (cDIET). cDIET improved the methane yield to 254.6 mL/g COD_r, compared to the control. However, polarized bioelectrodes induced electrode-mediated DIET and biological DIET (bDIET), in addition to cDIET, improving the methane yield to 310.7 mL/g COD_r. Electrostatic fields selectively promoted bDIET and cDIET for further methane production compared to the polarized bioelectrodes. As the contribution of DIET increased, the methane yield increased, and the substrate residue decreased, resulting in a significant improvement in methane production.

Magnetically active lithium-ion batteries towards battery performance improvement

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the fastest growing segment of the global battery market, and the preferred electrochemical energy storage system for portable applications. Magnetism is one of the forces that can be applied improve performance, since the application of magnetic fields influences electrochemical reactions through variation of electrolyte properties, mass transportation, electrode kinetics, and deposits morphology. This review provides a description of the magnetic forces present in electrochemical reactions and focuses on how those forces may be taken advantage of to influence the LIBs components (electrolyte, electrodes, and active materials), improving battery performance. The different ways that magnetic forces can interact with LIBs components are discussed, as well as their influence on the electrochemical behavior. The suitable control of these forces and interactions can lead to higher performance LIBs structures and to the development of innovative concepts.

Magnetic Field Facilitated Resilient Chain-like Fe3O4/C/Red P with Superior Sodium Storage Performance

Red phosphorus (P) has recently attracted lots of interest due to its extraordinary theoretical capacity of 2596 mAh g^-1 in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, it is challenging to solve the stability in the preparation process, while enhancing its low conductivity and solving the structural degradation caused by the enormous volume expansion (>490%) during cycling have become the targeted pursuits. Here, we creatively introduced the magnetic stimuli source to solve both of the preparation and the volume swelling force issues. In the precedence of magnetic field, the increased pressure in the sample room drives the homogeneous red P particles to finely deposit on the surface of Fe₃O₄/C. The chain-like Fe₃O₄/C/red P was successfully prepared assisted by the magnetic field. Simultaneously, considering that the speeded up movements for both electrons and sodium ions depended on Lorentz force, the electrochemical performance of such anode material is optimized by tuning the arrays in collector. It is noted that the nanostructure is elastically rearranged for the resistance of volume swelling force. Compared with the single Fe₃O₄/C/red P particles, for the magnetic fabricated Fe₃O₄/C/P chain structure, the electrostatic potential for reconstructing the chain-like Fe₃O₄/C/P is the largest. Such configured chain-like anode material exhibits an extraordinary cyclic performance and superior rate capability (692 mAh g^-1 at 2000 mA g^-1). The magnetic stimuli source bridges both the preparation optimization and the electrochemical performance enhancements for the red P based anode materials.