Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have drawn considerable attention due to their high energy density and good cycling stability. As a transition-metal oxide, MgCo₂O₄ (MCO) is a promising candidate for energy storage applications because of its low-cost and environmental characteristics. Here, MCO porous nanosheets have been successfully synthesized by a microwave-assisted liquid phase method followed by an annealing procedure. As a result, MCO annealed at 600 °C exhibited optimal rate and cycling performances for Lithium storage application. Specifically, when tested as anode materials for Lithium ion batteries, MCO porous nanosheets delivered a high specific capacity of 1173.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 200 mA g⁻¹, and the specific capacity reached 1130.1 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 200 mA g⁻¹, achieving 96.3% for the retention rate. The excellent electrochemical performances are mainly attributed to the monolayer porous nanosheet, which provides short transport paths for Li ions and electrons. Results demonstrated that the MCO porous nanosheets are promising electrode materials for Lithium ion batteries applications.

Environmental pollution and energy shortage make the development of clean energy more and more urgent. As a kind of clean renewable energy, hydrogen has attracted more attention recently. WO₃-based materials have emerged as one of the most promising candidates for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their attractive electrocatalytic activity, low cost, as well as electrochemical durability. In this minireview, we systematically provide an overview of WO₃-based materials applied for HER, including pure WO₃, doped WO₃, and WO₃-based composite materials. Furthermore, the strategies to enhance their electrocatalytic performance are summarized and discussed, such as morphological engineering, doping, as well as compositing with other materials. Finally, the limitation and challenges of WO₃-based materials for HER and their prospects for future research are proposed. We believe that this minireview will be favorable for scientists to seek more promising HER electrocatalysts.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely used in the fields of smart phones, electric vehicles, and smart grids. With its opened Aurivillius structure, tungstate antimony oxide (Sb₂WO₆, SWO), constituted of {Sb₂O₂}²ⁿ⁺ and {WO₄}²ⁿ⁻, is rarely investigated as an anode for lithium-ion batteries. In this work, Sb₂WO₆ with nanosheets morphology was successfully synthesized using a simple microwave hydrothermal method and systematically studied as an anode for lithium-ion batteries. The optimal SWO (SWO-60) exhibits a high specific discharge capacity and good rate capability. The good electrochemical performance could be ascribed to mesoporous nanosheets morphology, which is favorable for the penetration of the electrolyte and charge transportation. The results show that this nanostructured SWO is a promising anode material for LIBs.

In recent years, aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted more and more attention not only because they use earth-abundant metals but also due to their improved safety and high volumetric energy density. As one type of promising electrode material for AZIBs, manganese-based materials are receiving considerable attention owing to their high theoretical specific capacity, non-toxicity, and low cost. This mini review summarizes the recent advances on the application of manganese-based materials (manganese oxide, manganate, and their composites) in AZIBs. In addition, the methods to enhance their zinc-ion storage properties are summarized and discussed, such as morphology engineering, doping, as well as compositing with other materials. Ultimately, some personal prospects for future research of the manganese-based materials for AZIBs are also proposed.

Nowadays, wearable energy storage devices have been growing rapidly, but flexible systems with both excellent cycling stability and decent flexibility are still challenging. In this work, a flexible all-solid-state NH₄NiPO₄·H₂O//graphene supercapacitor with remarkable performance was successfully assembled. When cycled at a current density of 5 mA cm⁻², the device delivered 121 mF cm⁻², and showed good cycling stability after 3,000 cycles. Moreover, the all-solid-state NH₄NiPO₄·H₂O//graphene supercapacitor also exhibit high mechanical flexibility with well-maintained specific capacitance, even under bending to arbitrary angles (up to 180°) and different weights (up to 50 g).

The aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) have been deemed as one of the most promising energy storage devices owing to their high safety, low cost, and environmental benignity. Nevertheless, the severe corrosion of zinc metal anode and side reactions between the anode and electrolyte greatly hinder the practical application of AZIBs. To address above-mentioned issues, herein, a nano-CaSiO₃ layer was coated on the surface of Zn metal anode via the solution casting method. Results showed that this hydrophobic coating layer could effectively inhibit the direct contact of Zn metal anode with electrolyte, suppressing its corrosion and side reactions during Zn deposition/stripping. When applied in symmetrical cells, the nano-CaSiO₃ coated Zn (CSO-Zn) electrode exhibited much longer cycle life than bare Zn electrode. Moreover, with this nano-CaSiO₃ modified Zn anode, both vanadium-based and manganese-based full cells depicted excellent capacity retention. This nano-CaSiO₃ coating layer provides a good choice for improving the stability of Zn metal anode for high-performance AZIBs.