All-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) are receiving attention as a prospective next-generation secondary battery technology that can reduce the risk of commercial lithium-ion batteries by replacing flammable organic liquid electrolytes with non-flammable solid electrolytes. The practical application of ASSLBs requires developing robust solid electrolytes that possess ionic conductivity at room temperature on a par with that of organic liquids. These solid electrolytes must also be thermally and chemically stable, as well as compatible with electrode materials. Inorganic solid electrolytes, including oxide and sulfide-based compounds, are being studied as promising future candidates for ASSLBs due to their higher ionic conductivity and thermal stability than polymer electrolytes. Here, we present the challenges currently facing the development of oxide and sulfide-based solid electrolytes, as well as the research efforts underway aiming to resolve these challenges.

Li1.5Al0.5Ti1.5(PO4)3 (LATP) is considered to be one of the promising solid-state electrolytes owing to its excellent chemical and thermal stability, wide potential range (~5.0 V), and high ionic conductivity (~10-4 S/cm). LATP powders are typically prepared via the sol-gel method by adding and mixing nitrate or alkoxide precursors with chelating agents. Here, the thermal properties, crystallinity, density, particle size, and distribution of LATP powders based on chelating agents (citric acid, acetylacetone, EDTA) are compared to find the optimal conditions for densely sintered LATP with high purity. In addition, the three types of LATP powders are utilized to prepare sintered solid electrolytes and observe the microstructure changes during the sintering process. The pyrolysis onset temperature and crystallization temperature of the powder samples are in the order AC-LATP > CA-LATP > ED-LATP, and the LATP powder utilizing citric acid exhibits the highest purity, as no secondary phase other than LiTi2PO4 phase is observed. LATP with citric acid and acetylacetone has a value close to the theoretical density (2.8 g/cm3) after sintering. In comparison, LATP with EDTA has a low sintered density (2.2 g/cm3) because of the generation of many pores after sintering.

Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3(LATP) is considered a promising material for all-solid-state lithium batteries owing to its high moisture stability, wide potential window (~6 V), and relatively high ion conductivity (10-3–10-4 S/cm). Solid electrolytes based on LATP are manufactured via sintering, using LATP powder as the starting material. The properties of the starting materials depend on the synthesis conditions, which affect the microstructure and ionic conductivity of the solid electrolytes. In this study, we synthesize the LATP powder using sol-gel and co-precipitation methods and characterize the physical properties of powder, such as size, shape, and crystallinity. In addition, we have prepared a disc-shaped LATP solid electrolyte using LATP powder as the starting material. In addition, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements are conducted to analyze the grain size, microstructures, and ion conduction properties. These results indicate that the synthesis conditions of the powder are a crucial factor in creating microstructures and affecting the conduction properties of lithium ions in solid electrolytes.

Lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLTO) is a promising ceramic electrolyte because of its high ionic conductivity at room temperature, low electrical conductivity, and outstanding physical properties. Several routes for the synthesis of bulk LLTO are known, in particular, solid-state synthesis and sol-gel method. However, the extremely low ionic conductivity of LLTO at grain boundaries is one of the major problems for practical applications. To diminish the grain boundary effect, the structure of LLTO is tuned to nanoscale morphology with structures of different dimensionalities (0D spheres, and 1D tubes and wires); this strategy has great potential to enhance the ion conduction by intensifying Li diffusion and minimizing the grain boundary resistance. Therefore, in this work, 0D spherical LLTO is synthesized using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). The USP method primarily yields spherical particles from the droplets generated by ultrasonic waves passed through several heating zones. LLTO is synthesized using USP, and the effects of each precursor and their mechanisms as well as synthesis parameters are analyzed and discussed to optimize the synthesis. The phase structure of the obtained materials is analyzed using X-ray diffraction, and their morphology and particle size are analyzed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy.

Conductive carbon cloths (CCs) have been great attention as a promising current collector for flexible supercapacitors that supply power to portable and wearable electronics. However, the hydrophobic surface and weak adhesion with active materials has limited to be adopted as the binder-free and flexible electrode with mechanical/electrochemical stability. In this work, we demonstrate preparation of binder-free and flexible electrodes based on polyaniline (PANI) on carbon cloth. Polydopamine (PDA) layer are used to impart hydrophilicity, leading to uniform growth of PANI on the hydrophobic surface of carbon. Furthermore, PDA layer improves adhesion strength between PANI and carbon substrates, which allows for superior mechanical stability under ultrasonic condition. PANI-based flexible electrode shows high areal capacitance (160.8 mF cm− 2 at 0.5 mA cm− 2), good rate capability (71.1% even at high current density of 10 mA cm− 2), and long-term cycling stability (82.6% capacitance retention after 1500 cycles). Furthermore, a quasi-solid-state flexible supercapacitor reveals remarkable mechanical flexibility and durability, with superior capacitance retention (~ 100%) in bent state and after repetitive 1000 cycles.

Plastic pollution is threatening human health and ecosystems, resulting in one of the biggest challenges that humanity has ever faced. Therefore, this study focuses on the preparation of macroporous carbon from biowaste (MC)-supported manganese oxide (MnO2) as an efficient, reusable, and robust catalyst for the recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) waste. As-prepared MnO2/MC composites have a hierarchical pore network and a large surface area (376.16 m2/g) with a narrow size distribution. MnO2/MC shows a maximum yield (98%) of bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalate (BHET) after glycolysis reaction for 120 min. Furthermore, MnO2/MC can be reused at least nine times with a negligible decrease in BHET yield. Based on this remarkable catalytic performance, we expect that MnO2-based heterogeneous catalysts have the potential to be introduced into the PET recycling industry.

In this study, we report a general method for preparation of a one-dimensional (1D) arrangement of Au nanoparticles on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using biologically programmed peptides as structure-guiding 1D templates. The peptides were designed by the combination of glutamic acid (E), glycine (G), and phenylalanine (F) amino acids; peptides efficiently debundled and exfoliated the SWNTs for stability of the dispersion and guided the growth of the array of Au nanoparticles in a controllable manner. Moreover, we demonstrated the superior ability of 1D nanohybrids as flexible, transparent, and conducting materials. The highly stable dispersion of 1D nanohybrids in aqueous solution enabled the fabrication of flexible, transparent, and conductive nanohybrid films using vacuum filtration, resulting in good optical and electrical properties.