Multifunctional Hyphae Carbon Powering Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract

Biotechnology can bring new breakthroughs on design and fabrication of energy materials and devices. In this work, a novel and facile biological self‐assembly technology to fabricate multifunctional Rhizopus hyphae carbon fiber (RHCF) and its derivatives on a large scale for electrochemical energy storage is proposed. Crosslinked hollow carbon fibers are successfully prepared by conversion of Rhizopus hyphae, and macroscopic production of centimeter‐level carbon balls consisting of hollow RHCFs is further realized. Moreover, the self‐assembled RHCF balls show strong adsorption characteristics on metal ions and can be converted into a series of derivatives such as RHCF/metal oxides. Notably, the designed RHCF derivatives are demonstrated with powerful multifunctionability as cathode, anode, and separator for lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). The RHCF can act as the host material to combine with metal oxide (CoO) and S, Li metal, and a polypropylene (PP) separator to form a new RHCF/CoO‐S cathode, an RHCF/Li anode, and an RHCF/PP separator, respectively. Consequently, the optimized LSB full cell presents excellent cycling performance and superior high‐rate capacity (881.3 mA h g–1 at 1 C). This work provides a new method for large‐scale preparation of hollow carbon fibers and derivatives for advanced energy storage and conversion.

Surpassing the Redox Potential Limit of Organic Cathode Materials via Extended p−π Conjugation of Dioxin

“…However, the large-scale application of high-voltage inorganic electrode materials (e.g., lithium cobalt oxide, and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide) in lithium-ion batteries suffers from inferior reaction kinetics under cold-climate conditions and increasing worldwide concerns regarding the scarce and unsustainable transition metal resources (i.e., Ni or Co) . In recent years, researchers have paid extensive attention to the development of novel electrodes (such as carbon-based materials, bioderived electrodes , ). Among them, organic electrode materials (OEMs) are made up of plentiful elements (such as C, H, O, N, and S) and can be produced from biomass or through simple synthesis procedures .…”

Synergistic Effect of WN/Mo2C Embedded in Bioderived Carbon Nanofibers: A Rational Design of a Shuttle Inhibitor and an Electrocatalyst for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…Recently, biotechnology has brought new breakthroughs on design and fabrication of energy materials and devices. , As a typical biomass material, CFs exhibit thermoplastic characteristics, leading to irretrievable structure deformation after calcination (Figure S1). To estimate the applicability of the experimental design, the physicochemical properties of monometallic composites are first investigated.…”

“…Meanwhile, the respective adsorption and catalytic functions of Mo 2 C and WN were synergistically enhanced in the WN/ Mo 2 C-decorated CNFs (WMCNFs) due to the interaction of the electronic structure on the heterogeneous interface between the two metallic components, which effectively accelerated the electrochemical kinetics process of LiPS conversion. Consequently, a WMCNFs-coated PP separator (WM/PP) was applied as a "vice-electrode" on the cathode side, 34 which exhibited enhanced Li−S electrochemistry. When simultaneously employed as a sulfur host and a functional separator, a good rate performance of 552.75 mAh g −1 (10C) and an ultrastable long life span of 91.45% retention after 500 cycles at 2C were achieved.…”

Electrogenic Bacteria Promise New Opportunities for Powering, Sensing, and Synthesizing

“…[139][140][141] Because of its cost-effective, renewable, and eco-friendly features, bacterial biofabrication has attracted extensive attention in the field of nanotechnology. [142][143][144][145][146][147][148] In particular, electrogenic Small 2022, 18, 2107902 [129] Copyright 2020, Elsevier. b) A MFC-based biosensor for glucose monitoring in saliva.…”