A hyperaccumulation pathway to three-dimensional hierarchical porous nanocomposites for highly robust high-power electrodes

Abstract

Natural plants consist of a hierarchical architecture featuring an intricate network of highly interconnected struts and channels that not only ensure extraordinary structural stability, but also allow efficient transport of nutrients and electrolytes throughout the entire plants. Here we show that a hyperaccumulation effect can allow efficient enrichment of selected metal ions (for example, Sn2+, Mn2+) in the halophytic plants, which can then be converted into three-dimensional carbon/metal oxide (3DC/MOx) nanocomposites with both the composition and structure hierarchy. The nanocomposites retain the 3D hierarchical porous network structure, with ultrafine MOx nanoparticles uniformly distributed in multi-layers of carbon derived from the cell wall, cytomembrane and tonoplast. It can simultaneously ensure efficient electron and ion transport and help withstand the mechanical stress during the repeated electrochemical cycles, enabling the active material to combine high specific capacities typical of batteries and the cycling stability of supercapacitors.

Thick Electrode Batteries: Principles, Opportunities, and Challenges

“…With respect to low‐tortuosity pore structure engineering, nature is generally regarded as the master in making hierarchically straight pores that normally function as water and nutrient transport pathways since these structures are found in various natural plants . Such mass‐transporting pore structures in natural plants (e.g., tree) inspired researchers to develop thick electrodes inheriting the nature‐made low‐tortuosity pores . Recently, inspired by the well‐oriented channels inherent in the structure of wood, Chen et al reported a wood‐derived carbon framework (CF) with superior electrical conductivity (13.75 S cm −1 ), high compressive strength (≈24 MPa), and low tortuosity as a 3D current collector for LBs .…”

Recent Advances in Porous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

“…Biomass,akind of naturalc arbon raw material, has been widely used for the synthesis of porousc arbon because of its availability and abundant nature. As depicted in Figure 3, av ariety of biomasses have been appliedd uring recent years, from plants [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and animals [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] to crops. [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Ap rominent advantage of biomass precursors is the facility of constructing porous carbon with ultrahigh SSA through as imple activation process, which is vital for energy storage.…”

“…In addition to utilizingt hem directly,t akingf ulla dvantages of the biological features of biomasses will open an ew avenue for the creation of unique carbon-based materials.T his concept has been well demonstrated by Duan and co-workers. [28] It is known that the tissue microtopography of plants features intricates truts and channels that render the adequate transport of nutrients. This allows for the efficient hyperaccumulation of selected components.…”

General Airbrush‐Spraying/Electrospinning Strategy for Ultrahigh Areal‐Capacity LiFePO4‐Based Cathodes

“…To achieve high energy and power density LIBs, the designing and fabricating electrodes are essential attempts . In pursuit of electrodes of higher energy density, a minimal use of electrochemically inactive materials including metallic current collectors, polymer binders and conductive additives is highly desired . The binder‐free electrode is one of the most efficient designs, and can gain ideal electrochemical performance in batteries .…”