Composites of tin oxide and different carbonaceous materials as negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries

Biomass-Derived Materials for Advanced Rechargeable Batteries

Biomass-derived materials generally exhibit uniform and highly-stable hierarchical porous structures that can hardly be achieved by conventional chemical synthesis and artificial design. When used as electrodes for rechargeable batteries, these structural and compositional advantages often endow the batteries with superior electrochemical performances. This review systematically introduces the innate merits of biomass-derived materials and their applications as the electrode for advanced rechargeable batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, potassium-ion batteries, and metal-sulfur batteries. In addition, biomass-derived materials as catalyst supports for metal-air batteries, fuel cells, and redox-flow batteries are also included. The major challenges for specific batteries and the strategies for utilizing biomass-derived materials are detailly introduced. Finally, the future development of biomass-derived materials for advanced rechargeable batteries is prospected. This review aims to promote the development of biomass-derived materials in the field of energy storage and provides effective suggestions for building advanced rechargeable batteries.

Electrochemical monitoring of bisphenol-s through nanostructured tin oxide/Nafion/GCE: A solution to environmental pollution

Over the past few decades, phenolic compounds have been broadly exploited in the industries to be utilized in several applications including polycarbonate plastic, food containers, epoxy resins, etc. One of the major compounds in phenolics is Bisphenol-S (BPS) which has dominantly replaced Bisphenol-A in several applications. Phenolic compounds are extensively drained into the environment without proper treatment and cause several health hazards. Thus, to tackle this serious problem an electrochemical sensor based on SnO₂/GCE has been successfully engineered to monitor the low-level concentration of BPS in water samples. The fabrication of SnO₂ nanoparticles (SnO₂ NPs) was confirmed through FTIR, XRD, and TEM to examine the size, crystallinity, internal texture, and functionalities of the prepared material. The fabricated material was exploited as a chemically modified sensor for the determination of BPS in water samples collected from different sources. Under optimal conditions such as scan sweep 100 mV/s, PBS electrolyte pH of 6, potential window (0.3-1.3 V), the proposed sensor manifested an excellent response for BPS. The LOD of the present method for BPS was calculated as 0.007 μM, respectively. Moreover, the stability and selectivity profile of SnO₂/GCE for BPS in the real matrix was examined to be outstanding.

Tin Oxide Encapsulated into Pyrolyzed Chitosan as a Negative Electrode for Lithium Ion Batteries

Tin oxide is one of the most promising electrode materials as a negative electrode for lithium-ion batteries due to its higher theoretical specific capacity than graphite. However, it suffers lack of stability due to volume changes and low electrical conductivity while cycling. To overcome these issues, a new composite consisting of SnO2 and carbonaceous matrix was fabricated. Naturally abundant and renewable chitosan was chosen as a carbon source. The electrode material exhibiting 467 mAh g−1 at the current density of 18 mA g−1 and a capacity fade of only 2% after 70 cycles is a potential candidate for graphite replacement. Such good electrochemical performance is due to strong interaction between amine groups from chitosan and surface hydroxyl groups of SnO2 at the preparation stage. However, the charge storage is mainly contributed by a diffusion-controlled process showing that the best results might be obtained for low current rates.

Diatoms Biomass as a Joint Source of Biosilica and Carbon for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

The biomass of one type cultivated diatoms (Pseudostaurosira trainorii), being a source of 3D-stuctured biosilica and organic matter-the source of carbon, was thermally processed to become an electroactive material in a potential range adequate to become an anode in lithium ion batteries. Carbonized material was characterized by means of selected solid-state physics techniques (XRD, Raman, TGA). It was shown that the pyrolysis temperature (600 °C, 800 °C, 1000 °C) affected structural and electrochemical properties of the electrode material. Biomass carbonized at 600 °C exhibited the best electrochemical properties reaching a specific discharge capacity of 460 mAh g-1 for the 70th cycle. Such a value indicates the possibility of usage of biosilica as an electrode material in energy storage applications.

Environmentally Friendly and Cost-Effective Synthesis of Carbonaceous Particles for Preparing Hollow SnO2 Nanospheres and their Bifunctional Li-Storage and Gas-Sensing Properties

The templated preparation of hollow nanomaterials has received broad attention. However, many templates are expansive, environmentally-harmful, along with involving a complicated preparation process. Herein, we present a cost-effective, environmentally friendly and simple approach for making carbonaceous particles which have been demonstrated as efficient templates for preparing hollow nanospheres. Natural biomass, such as wheat or corn, is used as the source only, and thus other chemicals are not needed. The carbonaceous particles possess abundant hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, enabling them to efficiently adsorb metal ions in solution. The prepared SnO2 hollow spheres were used in a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery anode, and as the sensing layer of a gas sensor, respectively. After charge–discharge for 200 times at a rate of 1 C, the anodes exhibit a stable capacity of 500 mAh g−1, and a Coulombic efficiency as high as 99%. In addition, the gas sensor based on the SnO2 hollow spheres shows a high sensing performance towards ethanol gas. It is expected that the presented natural biomass-derived particles and their green preparation method will find more applications for broad research fields, including energy-storage and sensors.