Afshin Pendashteh

Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies | IMDEA · IMDEA-Materials

Silicon anodes are a promising solution in all‐solid‐state batteries (ASSBs) due to minor lithium dendrite risk, high capacity, and low potential. Research on Si integration in ASSBs is still nascent, requiring a deep understanding of the interplay between electrode composition, structure, and performance. Here, we present the first study on 100 %...

Nanowires and other high aspect ratio nanoparticles are building blocks to form network materials in formats such as films, sheets, fibres and electrodes that thus bridge the nano and macro...

Composites of nanocarbons and transition metal oxides combine excellent mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity with high capacitive active sites. These composites are promising for applications such as electrochemical energy conversion and storage, catalysis, and sensing. Here, we show that Joule heating can be used as a rapid out-o...

Combined with other materials and device improvements, Si anodes can provide a step change in Lithium‐ion battery properties, enabling cell energy density to exceed 400 Wh kg⁻¹. Freestanding, large‐area anodes of 100% Si produced by a slurry‐free method without carbon or binders are introduced. Their structure, a dense network of interconnected hig...

Their superlative nanoscale properties make carbon nanotubes (CNTs) one of the most valuable possible products of hydrocarbon cracking. CNTs have the mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of single-crystal graphite, realized as one-dimensional nanoparticles with diameter of a few nanometers and extraordinary aspect ratio above 105. However,...

Suspended in the gas phase, 1D inorganic nanoparticles (nanotubes and nanowires) grow to hundreds of microns in a second and can be thus directly assembled into freestanding network materials. The corresponding process continuously transforms gas precursors into aerosols into aerogels into macroscopic nanotextiles. By enabling the assembly of very...

Suspended in the gas phase, 1D inorganic nanoparticles (nanotubes and nanowires) grow to hundreds of microns in a second and can be thus directly assembled into freestanding network materials. The corresponding process continuously transforms gas precursors into aerosols into aerogels into macroscopic nanotextiles. By enabling the assembly of very...

Composites of nanocarbon network structures are interesting materials, combining mechanical properties and electrical conductivity superior to those of granular systems. Hence, they are envisaged to have applications as electrodes for energy storage and transfer. Here, we show a new processing route using Joule heating for a nanostructured network...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) individually exhibit exceptional physical properties, surpassing state-of-the-art bulk materials, but are used commercially primarily as additives rather than as a standalone macroscopic product. This limited use of bulk CNT materials results from the inability to harness the superb nanoscale properties of individual CNTs in...

Developing sustainable battery electrode manufacturing methods is particularly pressing for alloying‐type active materials, such as silicon, which often require additional energy‐intensive and solvent‐based processing to reinforce them with a buffer matrix. This work introduces a new method to fabricate Si anodes as continuous, tough fabrics of arb...

Graphite ineffectiveness in sodium storage has induced extensive research on non-graphitic carbons as high-performance active materials for negative electrodes of Na-ion batteries. Among these, soft carbons are promising for high-power sodium storage, yet their practical success is jeopardized by their low initial coulombic efficiency (i.e. 65-70%)...

Synthesis of inorganic nanowires/nanotubes suspended in the gas through floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (FCCVD) produces exceptional growth rates of 5-1000 micron per second, several orders of magnitude faster than conventional substrate processes. It leads to nanowire lengths >100 microns and thus to the possibility of direct assembly...

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Damien Saurel and Montserrat Canas‐Cabanas at CIC EnergiGUNE and Ikerbasque (Spain). the data corresponding to NaTiOPO4 Na‐ion anode material obtained in a powder X‐ray diffraction operando experiment when cycled between 2.4 and 1V vs Na+/Na (2θ λ Cu = 32° ‐ 34 °, reversible intercalation of 0.58 Na+)....

The Front Cover shows the data corresponding to NaTiOPO4 Na‐ion anode material obtained in a powder X‐ray diffraction operando experiment when cycled between 2.4 and 1V vs Na+/Na (2θ λ Cu = 32° ‐ 34 °, reversible intercalation of 0.58 Na+). Operando experiments have provided key insights regarding the internal processes occurring in a battery durin...

Operando experiments represent a powerful tool for the monitoring of internal processes upon battery cycling that provide valuable insights regarding the fundamental electrochemical redox mechanisms and ageing phenomena in battery materials. However, obtaining high‐quality, representative and exploitable data from operando measurements requires car...

The viability of the sodium-ion batteries as a post-lithium storage technology is strongly tied to the development of high-performance carbonaceous anode materials. This requires screening novel precursors, and tuning their electrochemical properties. Soft carbons as promising anode materials, not only for batteries, but also in hybrid capacitors,...

Zn-air batteries are amongst the most promising energy storage technologies due to high theoretical energy density which their practical application is tied to development of low-cost, effective bifunctional catalysts. Herein, a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst was synthesized by hybridizing hierarchical spinel Co3O4 nanorods with N-rG...

Mixed metal sulfides have recently attracted great attention for energy storage applications due to their low cost and enhanced electrical/electrochemical performance compared to oxide/hydroxide analogues. Despite of being demonstrated as...

The commercialization of oxygen-related energy storage/conversion devices, for instance metal-air batteries or fuel cells, is highly dependent on development of low-cost, high performance electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction/oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER). In the present study, we employed Co-ZIF-9 as a sacrificial precursor to synthesiz...

Ordered and disordered carbonaceous materials cover a wide range of the energy storage materials market. In this work a thorough analysis of the Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)patterns of a number of carbon samples for energy storage (including graphite, soft carbon, hard carbon, activated carbon, glassy carbon and carbide-derived carbon)is sho...

The vast commercialization of advanced energy storage/conversion technologies like rechargeable metal–air batteries and regenerative fuel cells is greatly tied to the development of efficient catalysts capable of proceeding the pertinent electrochemical processes like oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Hence, explo...

Finding proper electrocatalysts capable of efficient catalyzing both ORR and OER is of great importance for metal-air batteries. With increasing inclination towards structural and flexible devices, developing a high-performance self-standing air-cathode is highly demanded and challenging, as most of oxygen catalysts are powder and need to be furthe...

Finding proper electrocatalysts capable of efficiently catalyzing both ORR and OER is of great importance for metal–air batteries. With increasing attention focused on structural and flexible battery systems, one is encouraged to develop a high-performance self-standing air-cathode. This is challenging, as most of the oxygen catalysts are in a powd...

Demand for more efficient and ecofriendly energy storage systems arouse research efforts in seeking to develop new energy materials with promising properties. In this regard, mixed transition metal oxides have recently attracted great attention due to their improved electrochemical and electrical properties in comparison with simple oxides. Herein,...

Supercapacitors capable of providing high voltage, energy and power density but yet light, low volume occupying, flexible and mechanically robust are highly interesting and demanded for portable applications. Herein, freestanding flexible hybrid electrodes based on MnO2 nanoparticles grown on macroscopic carbon nanotube fibers (CNTf-MnO2) were fabr...

Low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reactions are of high importance for oxygen-related energy storage/conversion devices (e.g. Metal-O2 batteries or fuel cells). In the present study, we synthesized NiCoMnO4 nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets as highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for the...

Fe3O4 nanoparticles were anchored on GO nanosheets and evaluated as negative electrode materials for high-performance aqueous batteries. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TGA and TEM. Energy storage behavior of samples was investigated by testing high mass loaded (~8.5 mg.cm-2) Fe3O4-rGO electrodes using different...

New polymeric materials such as polymer electrolytes or redox polymers are actively being searched for in order to increase the performance and security of electrochemical energy storage devices such as batteries. Poly(ionic liquid)s are very popular materials in energy nowadays finding applications as ion conducting polymer electrolytes and electr...

Demand for high-performance energy storage materials has motivated research activities to develop nano-engineered composites that benefit from both high-rate and high-capacitance materials. Herein, NiMnO3 (NMO) nanoparticles have been synthesized through a facile co-precipitation method. As-prepared NMO samples are then employed for the synthesis o...

In attempt to reduce the amount of toxic Co in cobalt oxides, NiCoMnO4 nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route and their electrochemical properties have been investigated as a novel electrode material for supercapacitors. Samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), a...

The demand for more efficient energy storage systems stimulates research efforts to seek and develop new energy materials with promising properties. In this regard, binary metal oxides have attracted great attention due to their better electrochemical performance as compared to their single oxide analogues. Herein, nanostructured porous wires of Fe...

The search for faster, safer and more efficient energy storage systems continues to inspire researchers to develop new energy storage materials with ultrahigh performance. Mesoporous nanostructures are interesting for supercapacitors because of their high surface area, controlled porosity and large number of active sites, which promise the utilizat...

Micro- and nano-structured lead dioxide (PbO2) have been synthesized by electrodeposition at constant current on Ti substrate. The size and morphology of the PbO2 particles have been tuned by altering the concentration of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the surfactant. The prepared samples (PbO2-PVPx, x refers to the percentage of PVP) were character...

A facile electrostatic co-precipitation route has been employed to prepare f-SWCNT/Co 3 O 4 nano-composite. The prepared samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and BET. Application of the prepared samples has been ev...

CuCo2O4 nanostructures were synthesized through a facile solution combustion method. Electrochemical investigations demonstrate a novel electrode material for supercapacitors with remarkable performance including high-rate capability, high-power density (22.11 kW kg(-1)) and desirable cycling stability at different current densities.

Various morphologies of copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures have been synthesized by controlling the reaction parameters in a sonochemical assisted method without using any templates or surfactants. The effect of reaction parameters including molar ratio of the reactants, reaction temperature, ultrasound exposure time, and annealing temperature on th...

Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles have been synthesized through a sonochemical assisted precipitation followed by thermal treatment. As prepared CuO nanoparticles have been anchored on surface of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets through a simple electrostatic coprecipitation. Prepared samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Four...

Micro and nanostructured γ-MnO2 are synthesized to investigate the size effect of cathode active materials in battery performance. MnSO4 and (NH4)2S2O8 were used as starting materials to prepare micro and nanostructured samples in the presence of stirring and ultrasonic irradiation, respectively. Structure optimization is done by changing values fo...