Highly stable Fe2O3@SnO2@HNCS hollow nanospheres with enhanced lithium-ion battery performance

Hollow Fe2O3@SnO2@HNCS nanospheres recombined the merits of the synergistic effect of metal oxides, rigid hollow structure and highly conductive N-doping.

SnSe2 /FeSe2 Nanocubes Capsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Realizing Stable Sodium-Ion Storage at Ultrahigh Rate

Metal selenides have attracted increasing attention recently as anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of their large capacities, high electric conductivity, as well as environmental benignity. However, the application of metal selenides is hindered by the huge volume variation, which causes electrode structure devastation and the consequent degrading cycling stability and rate capability. To overcome the aforementioned obstacles, herein, SnSe₂ /FeSe₂ nanocubes capsulated in nitrogen-doped carbon (SFS@NC) are fabricated via a facile co-precipitation method, followed by poly-dopamine wrapping and one-step selenization/carbonization procedure. The most remarkable feature of SFS@NC is the ultra-stability under high current density while delivering a large capacity. The synergistic effect of dual selenide components and core-shell architecture mitigates the volume effect, alleviates the agglomeration of nanoparticles, and further improves the electric conductivity. The as-prepared SFS@NC nanocubes present a high capacity of 408.1 mAh g^-1 after 1200 cycles at 6 A g^-1 , corresponding to an 85.3% retention, and can achieve a capacity of 345.0 mAh g^-1 at an extremely high current density of 20 A g^-1 . The outstanding performance of SFS@NC may provide a hint to future material structure design strategy, and promote further developments and applications of SIBs.

Arsenic and cadmium removal from water by a calcium-modified and starch-stabilized ferromanganese binary oxide

A new calcium-modified and starch-stabilized ferromanganese binary oxide (Ca-SFMBO) sorbent was fabricated with different Ca concentrations for the adsorption of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in water. The maximum As(III) and Cd(II) adsorption capacities of 1% Ca-SFMBO were 156.25 mg/g and 107.53 mg/g respectively in single-adsorption systems. The adsorption of As and Cd by the Ca-SFMBO sorbent was pH-dependent at values from 1 to 7, with an optimal adsorption pH of 6. In the dual-adsorbate system, the presence of Cd(II) at low concentrations enhanced As(III) adsorption by 33.3%, while the adsorption of As(III) was inhibited with the increase of Cd(II) concentration. Moreover, the addition of As(III) increased the adsorption capacity for Cd(II) up to two-fold. Through analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), it was inferred that the mechanism for the co-adsorption of Cd(II) and As(III) included both competitive and synergistic effects, which resulted from the formation of ternary complexes. The results indicate that the Ca-SFMBO material developed here could be used for the simultaneous removal of As(III) and Cd(II) from contaminated water.

Porous SnO2 nanostructure with a high specific surface area for improved electrochemical performance

Tin oxide (SnO₂) has been attractive as an alternative to carbon-based anode materials because of its fairly high theoretical capacity during cycling. However, SnO₂ has critical drawbacks, such as poor cycle stability caused by a large volumetric variation during the alloying/de-alloying reaction and low capacity at a high current density due to its low electrical conductivity. In this study, we synthesized a porous SnO₂ nanostructure (n-SnO₂) that has a high specific surface area as an anode active material using the Adams fusion method. From the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and transmission electron microscopy, the as-prepared SnO₂ sample was found to have a mesoporous structure with a fairly high surface area of 122 m² g⁻¹ consisting of highly-crystalline nanoparticles with an average particle size of 5.5 nm. Compared to a commercial SnO₂, n-SnO₂ showed significantly improved electrochemical performance because of its increased specific surface area and short Li⁺ ion pathway. Furthermore, during 50 cycles at a high current density of 800 mA g⁻¹, n-SnO₂ exhibited a high initial capacity of 1024 mA h g⁻¹ and enhanced retention of 53.6% compared to c-SnO₂ (496 mA h g⁻¹ and 23.5%).

A porous SnO₂ nanostructure as an anode active material showed significantly improved electrochemical performance.

Nigella sativa seed based nanohybrid composite-Fe2O3-SnO2/BC: A novel material for enhanced adsorptive removal of methylene blue from water

In this work, an advance approach is reported for the water treatment technology using nanohybrid composite Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC prepared by incorporation of iron-tin binary oxide into the cellulosic framework of medicinally active Nigella sativa (Black cumin) seed powder. The co-precipitation method was followed to prepare the nanohybrid composite which was subjected to investigate its physiochemical properties using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of highly functionalized nanocomposite through the hydrogen and electrostatic interactions between the functional groups of seeds and Fe₂O₃-SnO₂. X-ray and selected area electron diffraction pattern revealed the presence of cubic phase of γ-Fe₂O₃ and tetragonal phase of SnO₂ in the composite. The scanning electron microscopic images suggested the porous and relatively smooth surface of the composite, and transmittance electron microscopic images showed the trapping of nano-cubes of Fe₂O₃-SnO₂, having particles size in the range 95-185 nm, into the organic framework of Black cumin seeds, whose zero point charge was found at pH 7.2. The composite was investigated for adsorption of Methylene blue dye from water for which the results revealed that 2.0 gL^-1 amount of Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC was sufficient to remove more than 95% dye, within 15 min, at 6-9 pH, from its 10 mgL^-1 concentration. The thermodynamic studies established spontaneity, feasibility, and endothermic nature of the adsorption process. The adsorption data was satisfactorily described by the Freundlich isotherm which indicated inhomogeneous surface of the composite. Application of Temkin isotherm revealed the same extent of bonding probability and heat of adsorption at 27, 35, and 45 °C. The free energy change calculated from Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm suggested weak interaction between Methylene blue and Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC. The process satisfactorily followed the pseudo-second order kinetics that was controlled by the film diffusion step which indicated interaction of Methylene blue with functional sites of the Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis gave the confirmatory evidence for interaction of Methylene blue to Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of the Fe₂O₃-SnO₂/BC was found to be 58.82 mgg^-1 at 27 °C which is higher than the previously reported adsorbents, MnFe₂O₄/BC [J. Clean. Prod. 2018. 200, 996-1008], and Fe₂O₃-ZrO₂/BC [J. Clean. Prod. 2019. 223, 849-868]. Therefore, the study showed excellent results for water treatment and can be useful to develop advance water treatment technology.

Rational Design and Controllable Synthesis of Multishelled Fe2O3@SnO2@C Nanotubes as Advanced Anode Material for Lithium-/Sodium-Ion Batteries

Hierarchical Fe₂O₃ and SnO₂ nanostructures have shown great potential for applications in high-performance ion batteries because of their superiority, including wide resources, facile preparation, environmental friendliness, and high energy density. However, some severe challenges, such as rapid capacity decay due to volume expansion upon cycling and poor conductivity, limit their rate performance. To address this issue, multishelled Fe₂O₃@SnO₂@C (FSC) nanotubes were designed and synthesized by using a template method and Ostwald interaction. The as-prepared FSC nanotubes can deliver a high capacity of 1659 mA h g^-1 at a current density of 200 mA g^-1 and a high reversible capacity of 818 mA h g^-1 at 2000 mA g^-1 for lithium-ion batteries. Particularly, a high specific capacity of 1024 mA h g^-1 is still maintained after 100 charging/discharging cycles at 200 mA g^-1. Applied in sodium-ion batteries, the multishelled FSC nanotubes manifest a high specific capacity of 449 mA h g^-1 after 180 cycles at 50 mA g^-1. Such excellent performances of the as-fabricated FSC nanotubes may be due to the unique multishelled tubular structure, porous characteristics, and high specific surface area. Therefore, the present work provides an outstanding method to improve the energy storage performance of metal oxide composites and other types of nanocomposites.

Sn-doped hematite modified by CaMn2O4 nanowire with high donor density and enhanced conductivity for photocatalytic water oxidation

Herein, we report a novel nanocomposite consisting of n-type Sn-doped hematite and p-type CaMn₂O₄ nanowire (CaMn₂O₄/α-Fe₂O₃). The nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which showed that nanospindle-like Sn-doped hematite and CaMn₂O₄ nanowire contact intimately in the nanocomposite, resulting in efficient charge transfer and separation. Photoelectrochemical results reveal that the nanocomposite possesses higher donor density, enhanced conductivity and lower overpotential for dioxygen evolution. In addition, the nanocomposite demonstrates high photocatalytic activity for water oxidation to produce oxygen in a photoelectrochemical cell. The amount of O₂ evolved from the optimized photoanode of the photoelectrochemical cell was 1.98 μmol in 2 h of simulated sunlight irradiation. This work demonstrates a facile synthesis of a novel nanocomposite as anode material for photocatalytic water oxidation to produce O₂.