The development of the next generation of advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) requires new & advanced materials and novel fabrication techniques in order to push the boundaries of performance and open up new and exciting markets. Structured carbon materials, with controlled pore features on the micron and nanometer scales, are explored as advanced alternatives to conventional graphite as the active material of the LIB anode. Mesoporous carbon materials, carbon nanotube-based materials, and graphene-based materials have been extensively investigated and reviewed. Morphology control (e.g., colloids, thin films, nanofibrous mats, monoliths) and hierarchical pores (particularly the presence of large pores) exhibit an increasing influence on LIB performance. This tutorial review focuses on the synthetic techniques for preparation of porous carbon spheres and carbon monoliths, including hydrothermal carbonization, emulsion templating, ice templating and new developments in making porous carbons from sustainable biomass and metal-organic framework templating. We begin with a brief introduction to LIBs, defining key parameters and terminology used to assess the performance of anode materials, and then address synthetic techniques for the fabrication of carbon spheres & monoliths and the relevant composites, followed, respectively, by a review of their performance as LIB anode materials. The review is completed with a prospective view on the possible direction of future research in this field.
Solution blow spinning (SBS) has emerged as a rapid and scalable technique for the production of polymeric and ceramic materials into micro-/nanofibers. Here, SBS was employed to produce submicrometer fibers of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) from Bombyx mori (silkworm) cocoons based on formic acid or aqueous systems. Spinning in the presence of vapor permitted the production of fibers from aqueous solutions, and high alignment could be obtained by modifying the SBS setup to give a concentrated channeled airflow. The combination of SBS and a thermally induced phase separation technique (TIPS) resulted in the production of macro-/microporous fibers with 3D interconnected pores. Furthermore, a coaxial SBS system enabled a pH gradient and kosmotropic salts to be applied at the point of fiber formation, mimicking some of the aspects of the natural spinning process, fostering fiber formation by self-assembly of the spinning dope. This scalable and fast production of various types of silk-based fibrous scaffolds could be suitable for a myriad of biomedical applications.
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