Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising technology for water desalination that has seen tremendous advances over the past five years.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are used widely in today's consumer electronics and offer great potential for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in HEVs, pure EVs, and also in smart grids as future energy-storage devices. However, many challenges must be addressed before these future applications of LIBs are realized, such as the energy and power density of LIBs, their cycle and calendar life, safety characteristics, and costs. Recently, a technique called atomic layer deposition (ALD) attracted great interest as a novel tool and approach for resolving these issues. In this article, recent advances in using ALD for LIB studies are thoroughly reviewed, covering two technical routes: 1) ALD for designing and synthesizing new LIB components, i.e., anodes, cathodes, and solid electrolytes, and; 2) ALD used in modifying electrode properties via surface coating. This review will hopefully stimulate more extensive and insightful studies on using ALD for developing high-performance LIBs.

Ultrathin MoS2/N‐graphene nanosheets with ≈4 nm thickness exhibit exceptional electrochemical performance. Extension of the defect sites and vacancies of the nanosheets results in the increase of capacity during cycling.

Rope-like bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) similar to those obtained by laser vaporization and electric-arc techniques were synthesized on a relatively large scale and at low cost by the catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons at a temperature of about 1200 °C using an improved floating catalyst method. The SWNTs thus obtained have larger diameters and are self-organized into ropes. The addition of thiophene was found to be effective in promoting the growth of SWNTs and in increasing the yield of either SWNTs or multiwalled carbon nanotubes under different growth conditions.

improved LIB performance is in the electrode materials. [ 11 ] Presently, commercial anode materials mainly include graphite, which limits the lithium storage performance in terms of energy and power density due to the low theoretical capacity (LiC 6 , 372 mAh g −1 ) and low Li-ion transport rate. [12][13][14] New anode materials with higher capacities are being looked for including mixed transition metal oxide anodes. Traditional Metal Oxide AnodesNew research is constantly being carried out to reach the high requirements for LIB anodes. Various metal oxide materials such as SnO 2 , [15][16][17][18][19] Co 3 O 4 , [20][21][22][23] NiO, [24][25][26][27] Fe 3 O 4 , [28][29][30] and MnO 2 [31][32][33] are alternative potential anodes for LIBs due to their high theoretical capacities, high power density, and wide usefulness. However, metal oxides inevitably suffer from several major problems: severe volume changes during the alloying-dealloying processes, pulverization and agglomeration of primitive particles, and poor electronic conductivity that hinders the reaction with lithium during electrochemical reactions. Numerous approaches have attempted to address these challenges. One useful method is to develop the metal oxide materials into nanostructures. [ 3 ] The distinct lithium storage mechanisms and the infl uence of unique structures on the lithium storage properties of the metal oxide materials have been reported in detail. [ 5 ] A series of work on the design of various nanostructures of metal oxide materials has been subsequently carried out, for nanomaterials of different dimensions, hollow structures, and hierarchical structures. [ 5 ] Coating or combining the buffering matrix or conductive materials with metal oxide materials is another way to relieve the severe problems. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Various carbon materials, especially novel nanocarbon materials like carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets, have been widely studied as the buffering and conductive agent for metal oxide anodes. [43][44][45][46] In our previous review, [ 47 ] the signifi cant effects of graphene nanosheets on tin-based anodes were summarized in detail. It has been concluded that graphene not only contributes as a highly conductive network, but also as a fl exible supporting layer, effectively relieving the volume change and particle aggregation. In addition, different metals and metal oxides that are electrochemically active and Mixed transition-metal oxides (MTMOs), including stannates, ferrites, cobaltates, and nickelates, have attracted increased attention in the application of high performance lithium-ion batteries. Compared with traditional metal oxides, MTMOs exhibit enormous potential as electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries originating from higher reversible capacity, better structural stability, and high electronic conductivity. Recent advancements in the rational design of novel MTMO micro/nanostructures for lithium-ion battery anodes are summarized and their energy storage mechanism is compared to transit...

This review presents recent developments in the design and synthesis of Pt-based catalysts with high atom utilization efficiency and their enhanced catalytic performance in electrochemical catalytic reactions.

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