Color Tuning of Electrochromic TiO2 Nanofibrous Layers Loaded with Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Smart Colored Windows

Co-axial electrospinning was applied for the structuring of non-woven webs of TiO2 nanofibers loaded with Ag, Au, and CuO nanoparticles. The composite layers were tested in an electrochromic half-cell assembly. A clear correlation between the nanoparticle composition and electrochromic effect in the nanofibrous composite is observed: TiO2 loaded with Ag reveals a black-brown color, Au shows a dark-blue color, and CuO shows a dark-green color. For electrochromic applications, the Au/TiO2 layer is the most promising choice, with a color modulation time of 6 s, transmittance modulation of 40%, coloration efficiency of 20 cm2/C, areal capacitance of 300 F/cm2, and cyclic stability of over 1000 cycles in an 18 h period. In this study, an unexplored path for the rational design of TiO2-based electrochromic device is offered with unique color-switching and optical efficiency gained by the fibrous layer. It is also foreseen that co-axial electrospinning can be an alternative nanofabrication technique for smart colored windows.

Revealing Reaction Pathways of Collective Substituted Iron Fluoride Electrode for Lithium Ion Batteries

Metal fluorides present a high redox potential among the conversion-type compounds, which make them specially work as cathode materials of lithium ion batteries. To mitigate the notorious cycling instability of conversion-type materials, substitutions of anion and cation have been proposed but the role of foreign elements in reaction pathway is not fully assessed. In this work, we explored the lithiation pathway of a rutile-Fe_0.9Co_0.1OF cathode with multimodal analysis, including ex situ and in situ transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray techniques. Our work revealed a prolonged intercalation-extrusion-cation disordering process during phase transformations from the rutile phase to rocksalt phase, which microscopically corresponds to topotactic rearrangement of Fe/Co-O/F octahedra. During this process, the diffusion channels of lithium transformed from 3D to 2D while the corner-sharing octahedron changed to edge-sharing octahedron. DFT calculations indicate that the Co and O cosubstitution of the Fe_0.9Co_0.1OF cathode can improve its structural stability by stabilizing the thermodynamic semistable phases and reducing the thermodynamic potentials. We anticipate that our study will inspire further explorations on untraditional intercalation systems for secondary battery applications.

Order-disorder transition in nano-rutile TiO2 anodes: a high capacity low-volume change Li-ion battery material

Nano-sized particles of rutile TiO₂ is a promising material for cheap high-capacity anodes for Li-ion batteries. It is well-known that rutile undergoes an irreversible order-disorder transition upon deep discharge. However, in the disordered state, the Li_xTiO₂ material retains a high reversible ion-storage capacity of >200 mA h g^-1. Despite the promising properties of the material, the structural transition and evolution during the repeated battery operation has so far been studied only by diffraction-based methods, which only provide insight into the part that retains some long-range order. Here, we utilize a combination of ex situ and operando total scattering with pair distribution function analysis and transmission electron microscopy to investigate the atomic-scale structures of the disordered Li_xTiO₂ forming upon the discharge of nano-rutile TiO₂ as well as to elucidate the phase behavior in the material during the repeated charge-discharge process. Our investigation reveals that nano-rutile upon Li-intercalation transforms into a composite of ∼5 nm domains of a layered Li_xTiO₂α-NaFeO₂-type structure with ∼1 nm Li_xTiO₂ grain boundaries with a columbite-like structural motif. During repeated charge-discharge cycling, the structure of this composite is retained and stores Li through a complete solid-solution transition with a remarkably small volume change of only 1 vol%.

Review of Recent Development of In Situ/Operando Characterization Techniques for Lithium Battery Research

The increasing demands of energy storage require the significant improvement of current Li-ion battery electrode materials and the development of advanced electrode materials. Thus, it is necessary to gain an in-depth understanding of the reaction processes, degradation mechanism, and thermal decomposition mechanisms under realistic operation conditions. This understanding can be obtained by in situ/operando characterization techniques, which provide information on the structure evolution, redox mechanism, solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, side reactions, and Li-ion transport properties under operating conditions. Here, the recent developments in the in situ/operando techniques employed for the investigation of the structural stability, dynamic properties, chemical environment changes, and morphological evolution are described and summarized. The experimental approaches reviewed here include X-ray, electron, neutron, optical, and scanning probes. The experimental methods and operating principles, especially the in situ cell designs, are described in detail. Representative studies of the in situ/operando techniques are summarized, and finally the major current challenges and future opportunities are discussed. Several important battery challenges are likely to benefit from these in situ/operando techniques, including the inhomogeneous reactions of high-energy-density cathodes, the development of safe and reversible Li metal plating, and the development of stable SEI.

In situ analytical techniques for battery interface analysis

Interface is a key to high performance and safe lithium-ion batteries or lithium batteries.

In Situ High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Observation of Sn Nanoparticles on SnO2 Nanotubes Under Lithiation

We trace Sn nanoparticles (NPs) produced from SnO2 nanotubes (NTs) during lithiation initialized by high energy e-beam irradiation. The growth dynamics of Sn NPs is visualized in liquid electrolytes by graphene liquid cell transmission electron microscopy. The observation reveals that Sn NPs grow on the surface of SnO2 NTs via coalescence and the final shape of agglomerated NPs is governed by surface energy of the Sn NPs and the interfacial energy between Sn NPs and SnO2 NTs. Our result will likely benefit more rational material design of the ideal interface for facile ion insertion.

Thin-Film Electrochemistry of Single Prussian Blue Nanoparticles Revealed by Surface Plasmon Resonance Microscopy

Electrochemical behaviors of Prussian blue (PB) have been intensively studied for decades because it not only serves as a model electro-active nanomaterial in fundamental electrochemistry but also a promising metal-ion storage electrode material for developing rechargeable batteries. Traditional electrochemical studies are mostly based on bulk materials, leading to an averaged property of billions of PB nanoparticles. In the present work, we employed surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM) to resolve the optical cyclic voltammograms of single PB nanoparticles during electrochemical cycling. It was found that the electrochemical behavior of single PB nanoparticles nicely followed a classical thin-film electrochemistry theory. While kinetic controlled electron transfer was observed at slower scan rates, intraparticle diffusion of K⁺ ions began to take effect when the scan rate was higher than 60 mV/s. We further found that the electrochemical activity among individual PB nanoparticles was very heterogeneous and such a phenomenon has not been previously observed in the bulk measurements. The present work not only demonstrates the thin-film electrochemical feature of single electro-active nanomaterials for the first time, it also validates the applicability of SPRM technique to investigate a variety of metal ion-storage battery materials, with implications in both fundamental nanoelectrochemistry and electro-active materials for sensing and battery applications.

Insight into the phase evolution of a NiMgAl catalyst from the reduction stage to the post-reaction stage during the dry reforming of methane

A NiMgAl oxide catalyst was characterized and analyzed using in situ synchrotron XRD during the catalyst reduction, DRM reaction, and post-reaction.

Nanoscale controlled Li-insertion reaction induced by scanning electron-beam irradiation in a Li4Ti5O12 electrode material for lithium-ion batteries

Electron beam of scanning transmission electron microscopy can induce nanoscale-controlled Li-insertion in Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ electrode, which is significant as a new type of electron beam-assisted chemical reactions for local structural and property modifications.

New Insights into Electrochemical Lithiation/Delithiation Mechanism of α-MoO3 Nanobelt by in Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

The α-MoO3 nanobelt has great potential for application as anode of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high capacity and unique one-dimensional layer structure. However, its fundmental electrochemical failure mechanism during first lithiation/delithiation process is still unclear. Here, we constructed an electrochemical setup within α-MoO3 nanobelt anode inside a transmission electron microscope to observe in situ the mircostructure evolution during cycles. Upon first lithiation, the α-MoO3 nanobelt converted into numerous Mo nanograins within the Li2O matrix, with an obvious size expansion. Interestingly, α-MoO3 nanobelt was found to undergo a two-stage delithiation process. Mo nanograins were first transformed into crystalline Li(1.66)Mo(0.66)O2 along with the disappearance of Li2O and size shrink, followed by the conversion to amorphous Li2MoO3. This irreversible phase conversion should be responsible for the large capacity loss in first cycle. In addition, a fully reversile phase conversion between crystalline Mo and amorphous Li2MoO3 was revealed accompanying the formation and disapperance of the Li2O layer during the subsequent cycles. Our experiments provide direct evidence to deeply understand the distinctive electrochemical lithiation/delithiation behaviors of α-MoO3 nanobelt, shedding light onto the development of α-MoO3 anode for LIBs.

In situ fabrication and investigation of nanostructures and nanodevices with a microscope

The widespread availability of nanostructures and nanodevices has placed strict requirements on their comprehensive characterization.