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Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage Applications
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Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 6516

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Brahim Aïssa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Institute of Scientific Research, Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, University of Quebec, 1650, Lionel Boulet boulevard, Varennes, QC J3X1S2, Canada
Interests: 2D nanomaterials; metal oxides; materials science; applied physics; energy applications; organic photovoltaics; perovskite solar cells; Si solar cells; self healing materials; nanocomposites; optoelectronic devices; energy reliability; MXenes based material; plasmonics and metamaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The use of nanomaterials in energy conversion and storage represents an opportunity to improve the performance, density, and ease of transportation in renewable resources. This Special Issue looks at the most recent research on the topic, with a particular focus on artificial photosynthesis and lithium-ion batteries as the most promising technologies to date. We call for expertise from a wide range of backgrounds, from the most fundamental perspectives of the key catalytic processes at the molecular level to device-scale engineering and optimization. Although the nature of the processes dictates that electrochemistry is a primary characterization tool, due attention is given to advanced techniques such as synchrotron studies in operando. This Special Issue looks at the gap between the performance of current technology and what is needed for the future, for example, how to improve on the lithium-ion battery and to go beyond its capabilities.

Contents:

  • Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting;
  • Semiconducting Photocatalysis for Hydrogen Conversion;
  • Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis;
  • Metal-Nitride Nanostructures: Emerging Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis;
  • Surface Engineering of Semiconductors for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting;
  • Photoanodic and Photocathodic Materials Applied for Free-Running Solar Water Splitting Devices;
  • Electrocatalytic Processes in Energy Technologies; 
  • Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy on Photocatalysis;
  • Photoelectrochemical Tools for the Assessment of Energy-Conversion Devices;
  • Fundamentals of Rechargable Batteries and Electrochemical Potentials of Electrode Materials;
  • Revitalized Interest in Vanadium Pentoxide as Cathode Material for Alkali-Ion Batteries;
  • Tin-Based Compounds as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Storage;
  • Beyond Li-Ion: Electrode Materials for Sodium- and Magnesium-Ion Batteries; 
  • Nanomaterials and Nanostructures for Regulating Ions and Electron Transport in Advanced Energy-Storage Devices.

Prof. Dr. Brahim Aïssa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • catalytic processes
  • Li-Ion batteries
  • hydrogen conversion
  • fuel cells
  • electrochemistry

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2108 KiB  
Article
Silicon-Based Anode of Lithium Ion Battery Made of Nano Silicon Flakes Partially Encapsulated by Silicon Dioxide
by Yonhua Tzeng, Raycheng Chen and Jia-Lin He
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(12), 2467; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10122467 - 9 Dec 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3958
Abstract
Ubiquitous mobile electronic devices and rapidly increasing electric vehicles demand a better lithium ion battery (LIB) with a more durable and higher specific charge storage capacity than traditional graphite-based ones. Silicon is among the most promising active media since it exhibits ten times [...] Read more.
Ubiquitous mobile electronic devices and rapidly increasing electric vehicles demand a better lithium ion battery (LIB) with a more durable and higher specific charge storage capacity than traditional graphite-based ones. Silicon is among the most promising active media since it exhibits ten times of a specific capacity. However, alloying with lithium by silicon and dissociation of the silicon-lithium alloys induce high volume changes and result in pulverization. The loss of electrical contacts by silicon with the current collector of the anode causes rapid capacity decay. We report improved anode cycling performance made of silicon flakes partially encapsulated by silicon dioxide and coated with conductive nanocarbon films and CNTs. The silicon dioxide surface layer on a silicon flake improves the physical integrity for a silicon-based anode. The exposed silicon surface provides a fast transport of lithium ions and electrons. CNTs and nanocarbon films provide electrical connections between silicon flakes and the current collector. We report a novel way of manufacturing silicon flakes partially covered by silicon dioxide through breaking oxidized silicon flakes into smaller pieces. Additionally, we demonstrate an improved cycling life and capacity retention compared to pristine silicon flakes and silicon flakes fully encapsulated by silicon dioxide. Nanocarbon coatings provide conduction channels and further improve the anode performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage Applications)
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8 pages, 1914 KiB  
Article
Hydrothermal Synthesis of Polyhedral Nickel Sulfide by Dual Sulfur Source for Highly-Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis
by Yuan Gao, Ka Wang, Zixia Lin, Haizeng Song, Xiaomeng Duan, Zehui Peng and Shancheng Yan
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(11), 2115; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10112115 - 24 Oct 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2013
Abstract
Transition metal sulfides are cheap and efficient catalysts for water splitting to produce hydrogen; these compounds have attracted wide attention. Nickel sulfide (NiS2) has been studied in depth because of its simple preparation process, excellent performance and good stability. Here, we [...] Read more.
Transition metal sulfides are cheap and efficient catalysts for water splitting to produce hydrogen; these compounds have attracted wide attention. Nickel sulfide (NiS2) has been studied in depth because of its simple preparation process, excellent performance and good stability. Here, we propose a modification to the hydrothermal synthesis method for the fabrication of a highly efficient and stable NiS2 electrocatalyst prepared by two different sulfur sources, i.e., sulfur powder and C3H7NaO3S2 (MPS), for application in hydrogen evolution reactions. The obtained NiS2 demonstrated excellent HER performance with an overpotential of 131 mV to drive -10 mA cm−1 in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution with 5mV performance change after 1000 cycles of stability testing. We believe that this discovery will promote the industrial development of nonprecious metal catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage Applications)
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