Facile Approach for Synthesizing High-Performance MnO/C Electrodes from Rice Husk

Bioresource Polymer Composite for Energy Generation and Storage: Developments and Trends

The ever-growing demand of human society for clean and reliable energy sources spurred a substantial academic interest in exploring the potential of biological resources for developing energy generation and storage systems. As a result, alternative energy sources are needed in populous developing countries to compensate for energy deficits in an environmentally sustainable manner. This review aims to evaluate and summarize the recent progress in bio-based polymer composites (PCs) for energy generation and storage. The articulated review provides an overview of energy storage systems, e. g., supercapacitors and batteries, and discusses the future possibilities of various solar cells (SCs), using both past research progress and possible future developments as a basis for discussion. These studies examine systematic and sequential advances in different generations of SCs. Developing novel PCs that are efficient, stable, and cost-effective is of utmost importance. In addition, the current state of high-performance equipment for each of the technologies is evaluated in detail. We also discuss the prospects, future trends, and opportunities regarding using bioresources for energy generation and storage, as well as the development of low-cost and efficient PCs for SCs.

Effect of PVP Coating on LiMnBO3 Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries

LiMnBO3 is a potential cathode for Li-ion batteries, but it suffers from a low electrochemical activity. To improve the electrochemical performance of LiMnBO3, the effect of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as carbon additive was studied. Monoclinic LiMnBO3/C and LiMnBO3-MnO/C materials were obtained by a solid-state method at 500 °C. The structure, morphology and electrochemical behavior of these materials are characterized and compared. The results show that carbon additives and ball-milling dispersants affect the formation of impurities in the final products, but MnO is beneficial for the performance of LiMnBO3. The sample of LiMnBO3-MnO/C delivered a high capacity of 162.1 mAh g-1 because the synergistic effect of the MnO/C composite and the suppression of the PVP coating on particle growth facilitates charge transfer and lithium-ion diffusion.

Chemical Vapor Deposition-Assisted Fabrication of Self-Assembled Co/MnO@C Composite Nanofibers as Advanced Anode Materials for High-Capacity Li-Ion Batteries

Constructing the nanostructure of transition metal oxides for high energy density lithium-ion batteries has been widely studied recently. Prompted by the idea that the transition metal can serve as a catalyzer influence on the reversibility of solid-electrolyte interphase films, Co/MnO@C composite nanofibers were designed by electrospinning and chemical vapor deposition methods. The Co/MnO@C electrode showed superior electrochemical performance with a large capacity increase for the first 400 cycles and a high rate performance of 1345 mA h g^-1 at 1000 mA g^-1. There was no obvious decay of capacity over the whole 1000 cycles, demonstrating the excellent cycling stability of the samples. The new design and synthesis of the anodic materials may offer a prototype for high-performance and strong-stability batteries.