Jutai New Energy Storage Materials

Are nanostructures good for storing a large amount of charge?

A large family of conversion materials—such as oxides, sulfides, and fluorides—offer potential for storing a large amount of charge, but they have poor cyclability coupled with phase transformation and large volume change (90). Benefits of nanostructures have been fully demonstrated on these materials as well (20).

What are the applications of energy storage technology?

These applications and the need to store energy harvested by triboelectric and piezoelectric generators (e.g., from muscle movements), as well as solar panels, wind power generators, heat sources, and moving machinery, call for considerable improvement and diversification of energy storage technology.

What are the limitations of nanomaterials in energy storage devices?

The limitations of nanomaterials in energy storage devices are related to their high surface area—which causes parasitic reactions with the electrolyte, especially during the first cycle, known as the first cycle irreversibility—as well as their agglomeration.

Can nanomaterials improve the performance of energy storage devices?

The development of nanomaterials and their related processing into electrodes and devices can improve the performance and/or development of the existing energy storage systems. We provide a perspective on recent progress in the application of nanomaterials in energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors and batteries.

Who supports YG's research on energy storage?

Y.G.’s research on energy storage was supported through the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport (FIRST) Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, and Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Competing interests: None declared.

Does graphite have a high specific capacity for lithium ion storage?

The exception is graphite, which consists of an ordered stack of graphene layers and exhibits a specific capacity of 372 mA·hour g −1 for lithium ion storage in between the layers (30). A more conventional approach to achieving high specific capacity is to exploit redox reactions in nanomaterials and thus utilize materials beyond carbons.