02416nas a2200301 4500008004100000022001400041245011600055210006900171260000800240300001200248490000700260520140900267653002801676653002501704653002601729653002001755653002501775100002701800700001701827700001801844700001701862700001901879700002101898700001901919700002401938700002401962856012801986 2020 eng d a1613-681000aIn situ cross-linked nonaqueous polymer electrolyte for zinc-metal polymer batteries and hybrid supercapacitors0 aIn situ crosslinked nonaqueous polymer electrolyte for zincmetal cSEP a20025280 v163 a

This work reports the facile synthesis of nonaqueous zinc-ion conducting polymer electrolyte (ZIP) membranes using an ultraviolet (UV)-light-induced photopolymerization technique, with room temperature (RT) ionic conductivity values in the order of 10(-3)S cm(-1). The ZIP membranes demonstrate excellent physicochemical and electrochemical properties, including an electrochemical stability window of >2.4 V versus Zn|Zn(2+)and dendrite-free plating/stripping processes in symmetric Zn||Zn cells. Besides, a UV-polymerization-assisted in situ process is developed to produce ZIP (abbreviated i-ZIP), which is adopted for the first time to fabricate a nonaqueous zinc-metal polymer battery (ZMPB; VOPO4|i-ZIP|Zn) and zinc-metal hybrid polymer supercapacitor (ZMPS; activated carbon|i-ZIP|Zn) cells. The VOPO(4)cathode employed in ZMPB possesses a layered morphology, exhibiting a high average operating voltage of approximate to 1.2 V. As compared to the conventional polymer cell assembling approach using the ex situ process, the in situ process is simple and it enhances the overall electrochemical performance, which enables the widespread intrusion of ZMPBs and ZMPSs into the application domain. Indeed, considering the promising aspects of the proposed ZIP and its easy processability, this work opens up a new direction for the emergence of the zinc-based energy storage technologies.

10anonaqueous electrolytes10apolymer electrolytes10apostlithium batteries10aSupercapacitors10azinc-metal batteries1 aVijayakumar, Vidyanand1 aGhosh, Meena1 aKurian, Maria1 aTorris, Arun1 aDilwale, Swati1 aBadiger, Manohar1 aWinter, Martin1 aNair, Jijeesh, Ravi1 aKurungot, Sreekumar uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/situ-cross-linked-nonaqueous-polymer-electrolyte-zinc-metal-polymer-batteries-and-hybrid02460nas a2200193 4500008004100000022001400041245009800055210006900153260000900222300001400231490000700245520177300252100002702025700002502052700002402077700001902101700002402120856012202144 2021 eng d a1754-569200aIn situ polymerization process: an essential design tool for lithium polymer batteries dagger0 aIn situ polymerization process an essential design tool for lith cMAY  a2708-27880 v143 a

Polymer electrolytes (PEs), a type of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), have been in contention for nearly half a century to replace organic liquid electrolytes (LEs) that are used in state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). They are envisaged to accelerate the industrial-scale production of safe, energy-dense, flexible, and thin lithium polymer batteries (LPBs). LPBs are expected to be widely employed for electric propulsion and other futuristic applications, such as flexible electronics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Even though several polymer architectures and chemistries have been attempted so far, PEs that can outperform LEs remain a real challenge. Apart from inadequate Li+-ion transport properties, challenges concerning the integration of PEs and the engineering of compatible, robust, and durable interfaces and interphases at both the electrodes of LPBs must be appropriately addressed. Recently, the in situ polymerization process has been widely employed as a robust fabrication tool for surpassing the intricacies related to the integration of PEs in LPBs. Hence, in this review, we focus on the in situ polymerization processes that employ various polymerization methods (e.g., free-radical polymerization, ionic polymerization, electropolymerization, condensation polymerization, etc.), functional monomers and oligomers (e.g., acrylate, methacrylate, allyl and vinyl ethers, epoxides, etc.), and PE integration strategies for the fabrication of lithium (ion and metal) polymer batteries (LIPBs and LMPBs). Additionally, this review also evaluates the approaches that have been developed until now to implement the in situ processing of LPBs from large-sized pouch cells to flexible-/printable-batteries and even microbatteries.

1 aVijayakumar, Vidyanand1 aAnothumakkool, Bihag1 aKurungot, Sreekumar1 aWinter, Martin1 aNair, Jijeesh, Ravi uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/situ-polymerization-process-essential-design-tool-lithium-polymer-batteries-dagger02183nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001400041245012000055210006900175260000800244300001200252490000600264520129000270653002101560653001501581653001301596653003001609100002801639700002701667700002901694700002901723700002501752700002401777856012801801 2021 eng d a2366-748600aIn situ preparation of ionomer as a tool for triple-phase boundary enhancement in 3D graphene supported Pt catalyst0 aIn situ preparation of ionomer as a tool for triplephase boundar cJAN a20001250 v53 a

For improving the performance of platinum electrocatalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), it is important to enhance the Pt utilization level in the catalyst systems. A high performing electrocatalyst (Pt/3DNG) is developed for PEMFC applications by using nitrogen-doped 3D graphene (3DNG) as the support material and an in situ grafted active ``triple-phase boundary'' to more precisely control the formation of the proton conducting ionomer interface at the active sites. Considering the 3D morphology of the system, during the electrode fabrication for realistic single-cell evaluation, the concept of in situ generation of the proton conducting-ionomer based ``active triple-phase boundary'' is introduced, which could potentially replace the conventional method of using Nafion ionomer for the electrode preparation. The monomers owing to their small-size can access the pores and inner regions of the 3DNG support, which on UV-curing, undergo polymerization and transform into an ionomer with an extended interfacial network into the nanoregimes of 3DNG. Single cell evaluation of the membrane electrode assembly in a high-temperature PEMFC by using phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membrane demonstrates the utility of the present strategy.

10aelectrocatalysts10afuel cells10agraphene10aoxygen reduction reaction1 aGangadharan, Pranav, K.1 aVijayakumar, Vidyanand1 aNediyirakkal, Shijil, A.1 aFernandez, Roshni, Tresa1 aSiddharthan, Adhrika1 aKurungot, Sreekumar uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/situ-preparation-ionomer-tool-triple-phase-boundary-enhancement-3d-graphene-supported-pt01933nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001400041245010400055210006900159260000900228300001100237490000800248520115500256653002101411653002901432653003101461100002301492700002701515700002401542700002501566856012401591 2021 eng d a0032-386100aInterconnected polyaniline nanostructures: enhanced interface for better supercapacitance retention0 aInterconnected polyaniline nanostructures enhanced interface for cJAN  a1231690 v2123 a

Polyaniline and its nanocomposites have emerged as desirable electrode materials for supercapacitors. However, achieving specific capacitance with long-term cyclic stability is still a challenge. The present study reports on novel hierarchically porous and cross-linked polyaniline synthesized by a method employing aniline (monomer) and phytic acid (dopant acid) in the presence of octyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (OTAB) surfactant. The electrochemical performance of the phytic acid doped sample has been compared with HCl doped samples, the former being superior, i.e., a specific capacitance of 523 and 325 F g(-1) at current densities of 0.25 and 10 A g(-1), respectively. Additionally, the same possess excellent cycling stability with retention of similar to 88% of its initial capacitance over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Further, the phytic acid doped sample exhibited a lower equivalent series resistance (0.98 Omega cm(2)) than the HCl doped sample (1.26 Omega cm(2)). These results reveal the capability of the phytic acid doped hierarchical polyaniline sample as a promising active material for electrochemical applications.

10aCyclic stability10aHierarchical polyaniline10aSupercapacitance retention1 aMooss, Vandana, A.1 aVijayakumar, Vidyanand1 aKurungot, Sreekumar1 aAthawale, Anjali, A. uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/interconnected-polyaniline-nanostructures-enhanced-interface-better-supercapacitance02327nas a2200229 4500008004100000022001400041245016800055210006900223260000800292490000700300520143400307653003201741653003001773653002301803100001801826700001701844700002701861700004001888700001701928700002401945856012801969 2022 eng d a2194-428800aInfluence of ice templating on oxygen reduction catalytic activity of metal-free heteroatom-doped mesoporous carbon derived from polypyrrole for zinc-air batteries0 aInfluence of ice templating on oxygen reduction catalytic activi cDEC0 v103 a

The development of highly active, cost-effective, and durable, noble metal-free oxygen reduction electrocatalysts is inevitable for the full-fledged implementation of fuel cells and zinc-air batteries. This work reports the synthesis of heteroatom (N, P, S)-doped metal-free mesoporous carbon-based electrocatalyst derived from polypyrrole by combining the ice templating, freeze-drying, and carbonization processes. The correlation between the structure and electrochemical activity of the polypyrrole-derived carbon-based electrocatalyst in the presence and absence of ice templating is investigated. The optimized electrocatalyst, aided by the ice-templating and freeze-drying step, shows an onset and half-wave potential (E-1/2) of 0.94 and 0.78 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, respectively, in an alkaline electrolyte (0.1 m KOH). Later, the application of the optimized electrocatalyst is demonstrated in a primary zinc-air battery (ZAB) cell. The results prove that the ZAB device performance based on the homemade catalyst is on par with that of the state-of-the-art Pt/C cathode. The catalyst performance is correlated with the heteroatom doping and the enhanced porosity of the sample benefitted from ice templating. Ultimately, this work depicts a facile and rational synthesis of a truly metal-free electrocatalyst for the primary ZABs that can be a potential replacement for state-of-the-art systems.

10ametal-free electrocatalysts10aoxygen reduction reaction10azinc-air batteries1 aKurian, Maria1 aGhosh, Meena1 aVijayakumar, Vidyanand1 aPuthiyaveetil, Priyanka, Pandinhare1 aTorris, Arun1 aKurungot, Sreekumar uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/influence-ice-templating-oxygen-reduction-catalytic-activity-metal-free-heteroatom-doped