@article{XieXuWangetal.2022,
  author    = {Xie, Dongjiu and Xu, Yaolin and Wang, Yonglei and Pan, Xuefeng and H{\"a}rk, Eneli and Kochovski, Zdravko and Eljarrat, Alberto and M{\"u}ller, Johannes and Koch, Christoph T. and Yuan, Jiayin and Lu, Yan},
  title     = {Poly(ionic liquid) nanovesicle-templated carbon nanocapsules functionalized with uniform iron nitride nanoparticles as catalytic sulfur host for Li-S batteries},
  series = {ACS nano},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {ACS nano},
  number    = {7},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1936-0851},
  doi       = {10.1021/acsnano.2c01992},
  pages     = {10554 -- 10565},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Poly(ionic liquid)s (PIL) are common precursors for heteroatom-doped carbon materials. Despite a relatively higher carbonization yield, the PIL-to-carbon conversion process faces challenges in preserving morphological and structural motifs on the nanoscale. Assisted by a thin polydopamine coating route and ion exchange, imidazoliumbased PIL nanovesicles were successfully applied in morphology-maintaining carbonization to prepare carbon composite nanocapsules. Extending this strategy further to their composites, we demonstrate the synthesis of carbon composite nanocapsules functionalized with iron nitride nanoparticles of an ultrafine, uniform size of 3-5 nm (termed "FexN@C "). Due to its unique nanostructure, the sulfur-loaded FexN@C electrode was tested to efficiently mitigate the notorious shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in Li-S batteries. The cavity of the carbon nanocapsules was spotted to better the loading content of sulfur. The well-dispersed iron nitride nanoparticles effectively catalyze the conversion of LiPSs to Li2S, owing to their high electronic conductivity and strong binding power to LiPSs. Benefiting from this well-crafted composite nanostructure, the constructed FexN@C/S cathode demonstrated a fairly high discharge capacity of 1085 mAh g(-1) at 0.5 C initially, and a remaining value of 930 mAh g(-1 )after 200 cycles. In addition, it exhibits an excellent rate capability with a high initial discharge capacity of 889.8 mAh g(-1) at 2 C. This facile PIL-to-nanocarbon synthetic approach is applicable for the exquisite design of complex hybrid carbon nanostructures with potential use in electrochemical energy storage and conversion.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PanSarhanKochovskietal.2022,
  author    = {Pan, Xuefeng and Sarhan, Radwan Mohamed and Kochovski, Zdravko and Chen, Guosong and Taubert, Andreas and Mei, Shilin and Lu, Yan},
  title     = {Template synthesis of dual-functional porous MoS2 nanoparticles with photothermal conversion and catalytic properties},
  series = {Nanoscale},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Nanoscale},
  number    = {18},
  publisher = {RSC Publ. (Royal Society of Chemistry)},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {2040-3372},
  doi       = {10.1039/d2nr01040b},
  pages     = {6888 -- 6901},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Advanced catalysis triggered by photothermal conversion effects has aroused increasing interest due to its huge potential in environmental purification. In this work, we developed a novel approach to the fast degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-Nip) using porous MoS2 nanoparticles as catalysts, which integrate the intrinsic catalytic property of MoS2 with its photothermal conversion capability. Using assembled polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) block copolymers as soft templates, various MoS 2 particles were prepared, which exhibited tailored morphologies (e.g., pomegranate-like, hollow, and open porous structures). The photothermal conversion performance of these featured particles was compared under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. Intriguingly, when these porous MoS2 particles were further employed as catalysts for the reduction of 4-Nip, the reaction rate constant was increased by a factor of 1.5 under NIR illumination. We attribute this catalytic enhancement to the open porous architecture and light-to-heat conversion performance of the MoS2 particles. This contribution offers new opportunities for efficient photothermal-assisted catalysis.},
  language  = {en}
}