A binder plays an important role in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), especially for the electrode materials which have large volume expansion during charge and discharge. In this work, we designed a cross-linked polymeric binder with an esterification reaction of Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) and Fumaric Acid (FA), and successfully used it in an Sb₂O₃ anode for LIBs. Compared with conventional binder polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and CMC, the new cross-linked binder improves the electrochemical stability of the Sb₂O₃ anode. Specifically, with CMC-FA binder, the battery could deliver ~611.4 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles under the current density of 0.2 A g⁻¹, while with PVDF or CMC binder, the battery degraded to 265.1 and 322.3 mAh g⁻¹, respectively. The improved cycling performance is mainly due to that the cross-linked CMC-FA network could not only efficiently improve the contact between Sb₂O₃ and conductive agent, but can also buffer the large volume charge of the electrode during repeated charge/discharge cycles.

Severe self-corrosion is the main barrier preventing the application of aluminum as an anode material in alkaline air battery. In this work, a hybrid organic/inorganic inhibitor based on L-Cysteine/zinc oxide was tested to see if its addition to alkaline electrolyte can reduce self-corrosion of a commercial 1060 pure aluminum. Results obtained have shown that self-corrosion of pure aluminum is significantly restrained by the L-Cysteine/ZnO hybrid inhibitor without affecting its discharge performance. An interaction between ZnO and L-Cysteine leads to formation of a dense layer on pure aluminum surface. In both NaOH + ZnO and NaOH + L-Cysteine + ZnO solutions, the reaction mechanism is mainly controlled by diffusion of zincate ions. By using the L-Cysteine/ZnO hybrid inhibitor, cheap commercial 1060 pure aluminum can replace expensive 5N5 super-pure aluminum to achieve a comparable performance. This has been demonstrated in this study by comparing the battery based on commercial 1060 pure aluminum with the L-Cysteine/ZnO inhibitor and the battery made of 5N5 super-pure aluminum with 4 M NaOH solution.

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.