New paper published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A on the vital role of the properties of carbon as the conductive additive in Sb-conversion sodium-ion batteries. The homogeneity, morphology, size, and other properties of the carbon additive enable (or defy) high electrochemical performance and stability.

New paper published in Sustainable Energy & Fuels on the expected permselectivity of sub-nanometer pores of activated carbon. This effect enables membrane-free use of carbon electrodes for seawater desalination even at high molar strength, such as presented by seawater. This complementary work brings together modeling from the group of Guang Feng (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)  and experimental work from our team.

New paper published in ACS Nano on ionic structure transition within carbon nanopores that enhance the charge/discharge kinetics of electrical double-layer capacitors. Different from the traditional view that a smaller pore results in slower charging, a non-monotonic relation is found between the charging rate and pore size, in which the charging process is accelerated in some sub-1-nm pores. This work was done in collaboration with Guang Feng (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) and Yury Gogotsi (Drexel University).

New paper published in Electrochimica Acta on the influence and best-choice of electrolytes (organic / ionic liquid) when using hybrid supercapacitors operated at 2.8 V. The datae xplore below-ambient and above-ambient temperatures and demonstrates 3-methoxypropionitrile and mixed organic electrolytes as promising ones for specific performance regimes.

New paper published in Desalination. The work with the title “Polymer ion-exchange membranes for capacitive deionization of aqueous media with low and high salt concentration” investigates the desalination performance of ion-exchange membranes coated directly onto carbon electrodes with free-standing ion-exchange membranes at high and low molar strenght. The data show that MCDI enables reasonable desalination even of highly concentrated solutions. The work was done in collaboration with Markus Gallei (Saarland University).

New paper published in Journal of Power Sources on the synthesis of vanadium sulfide / carbon electrospun, free-standing, binder-free electrodes for lithium-ion battery application. This work was in collaboration with the Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research (Christina Scheu) and the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (Angela Kruth).

New paper published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society on the electrochemisorption of hydrogen and deuterium in carbon nanopores of different pore size. This work was in collaboration with Guang Feng (Huazhong University of Science and Technology).

New paper published in Carbon on the synthesis and electrochemical application of carbon spherogels. This work was in collaboration with the group of Nicolas Hüsing (spearheaded by Michael Elsaesser) at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria.

New paper published in Sustainable Energy & Fuels on titanium niobium oxide / carbon hybrids and composites. Our work demonstrates that well-designed metal oxide / carbon interfaces are of high importance as well as careful phase analysis; it is not suitable to generalize statements like “hybrids are always better than composites”.

New paper published in Carbon comparing pore structure models of nanoporous carbons obtained from small angle X-ray scattering and gas adsorption. This work was accomplished in collaboration with Montanuniversität Leoben (Oskar Paris & Christian Prehal).