Yong-Fang Li,Jing-Jing Lv,Ming Zhang,Jiu-Ju Feng,Fang-Fang Li,Ai-Jun Wang
A simple, facile, green, and controlled one-step electrodeposition method was developed for preparation of well-defined urchin-like Pd nanoparticles on a glassy carbon electrode, using nitrite ions as the growth directing agent. No any organic solvent, template, surfactant, seed, or complex apparatus was involved. The as-prepared Pd nanostructures had “clean” surfaces because of the surfactant-free formation process. The obtained Pd deposits were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental parameters including deposition potential, the dosage of H 2 PdCl 4 and nitrite ions, and deposition time were investigated in details. The urchin-like Pd nanoparticles demonstrated better tolerance, enhanced electrocatalytic activity, and superior stability toward methanol oxidation in alkaline media.
In this work, a novel urchin-like CuCo 2 O 4 directly grown on three-dimenstional (3D) Ni foam as a binder-free anode materials of lithium-ion batteries via one-step solvothermal method followed by subsequent annealing. The microstructure and phase composition were characterized systematically. The result indicated that the product at a calcination temperature of 550 °C yielded the most outstanding electrochemical properties with incredible reversible specific capacity of 1700 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 200 mA/g and extraordinary rate performance of 1250 mAh/g at 1000 mA/g. The likely contributing factors to the glorious electrochemical performance of the product were related to the unique urchin-like structure containing one-dimenstional (1D) nano-needles, which could tolerate the volume effect during the Li + insertion/extraction process and provide more channels for the transmission of electron and ions, as well as the introduction of Ni foam accelerating the transmission rate of electron.