Energy Materials in New Era

Haibo ZENG; Fuqiang HUANG

doi:10.15541/jim20211002

Abstract

In the long river of human history, every technological revolution is accompanied by transition of cognition, development and utilization of energy. At present, China has become the No. 1 in the world in both production and consumption of energy, which continue rising in the excepted future. Developing energy technology is still a key way to solve the problems of excessive dependence on traditional fossil energy and environmental pollution, construct a reasonable social structure, promote the sustainable development of human society, and achieve the goals of carbon emission peaking and carbon neutrality. In 2020, renewable energy in China such as photovoltaics and wind power evolved marvelously which occupied 1/3 of global total volume. In this regard, energy materials are indispensable components, which play the core role in realizing conversion and utilization of clean energy, developing new energy technologies, and supporting the entire energy system. In recent years, energy materials have achieved extensive and sustainable development in many fields, including secondary batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, supercapacitors, photoelectric catalysis, and energy-containing materials. For example, high nickel ternary materials as cathode material in the lithium-ion battery are leading the future of a new generation of automotive power battery technology towards faster charging speeds, longer service life and longer mileage^[1-4]. The ever increasing demand for energy storage has also spawned simultaneously a series of new battery technologies, such as lithium-sulfur^[5], lithium-air^[6] and solid-state batteries^[7]. They have advantages in energy density, economy and safety, but technical defects (e.g., shuttle effect in Li-S battery attributed to polysulfides, blockage of matrix pores in Li-air battery attributed to discharging product, unsatisfactory electrical conductivity of electrolyte in solid-state battery) are frustrating. Technological improvement and industrialization are strongly dependent on the innovative design and structural optimization of electrode and electrolyte materials. To promote the share of renewable energy in primary source, photovoltaics, the representative of new energy, received great expectation. In addition, halogen perovskite-based third-generation solar cell technology has achieved a solar energy conversion efficiency comparable to that of silicon single crystal, showing a prosperous photovoltaic industry in the future^[8]. However, its sensitivity to temperature, humidity, light, and oxygen^[9], and inevitable Pb-containing raw material in preparation still need to find a solution in the underlying materials design. Moreover, as continuously optimizing the traditional catalyst materials, like Pt and Pd, as well as the non-precious and non-metallic catalysts, the energy conversion efficiency of fuel cells has been gradually improved with reduction of their technical costs, meeting a certain degree of commercial application^[10-11]. Besides, photocatalytic and electrocatalytic technologies for CO₂ reduction and nitrogen fixation also provide a new way for the storage and utilization of renewable energy, technically support the carbon emission peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060^[12-13]. In the context of the era of sustainable development and the fiercely competitive international scientific and technological frontier research environment, in the energy materials research, including the exploration of physical and chemical properties, functional discovery, precise design and preparation of nanomaterials, and advanced device assembly, China has made many important breakthroughs. In order to focus on displaying the research results of Chinese scholars in this field, to promote academic exchanges among peers, and to stimulate interest in energy materials from all walks of life, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, etc. hereby organize the publication of “Energy Materials Special Issue”, containing the latest research articles and reviews related to energy materials involved with perovskite photovoltaics, semitransparent solar cell, Li-ion battery, Mg battery, Li-S battery, thermoelectrics, CO₂ splitting, etc. It is hoped that this Special Issue can offer useful references for the scientific research and disciplinary development of energy materials in China.

南京理工大学是隶属于工业和信息化部的全国重点大学, 坐落在钟灵毓秀、虎踞龙蟠的古都南京, 办学环境宜人, 基础设施一流。学校由创建于1953年的新中国军工科技最高学府——中国人民解放军军事工程学院（简称“哈军工”）分建而成。近年来, 学校立足南京、面向江苏, 不断延伸和扩展办学面, 形成了“一校三区”的发展布局, 是国家首批“211工程”重点建设院校和“985工程优势学科创新平台”项目重点建设高校, 2017年入选国家“双一流”建设高校。

南京理工大学被誉为“兵器科学与技术的摇篮”, 科技优势突出, 标志性成果不断涌现。始终坚持面向国家重大战略, 瞄准科技前沿, 在先进发射、光电信息、导航制导、先进材料等科技领域处于国内领先水平。2019年10月, 由我校担任总师单位研制的武器装备亮相新中国成立70周年阅兵式, 接受了党和全国人民的检阅。学校大力推进产学研合作, 发挥国家级技术转移中心和校外研究院的作用, 推动重大科技成果的转化应用, 服务国家和地方经济社会发展, 民用爆破、特种超细粉体制备、智能熔敷焊、滚动功能部件测试等技术, 填补了相关领域的空白, 创造了显著的经济效益和社会效益。

近年, 为响应国家能源结构调整, 推进可持续发展, 保障能源安全, 南京理工大学在国际上也逐渐发展成既有鲜明特色的研究领域, 如含能材料、航天燃料和生物质燃料, 也有民用的高能量密度、安全性的储能材料和器件, 热电、光电、光热等重要的新型能源转化系统。在含能材料领域, 2017年研制出世界上首个全氮阴离子盐, 为我国占领全氮类超高能量密度材料的制高点打下了关键基础, 现代含能材料也正朝着高能量密度、高可靠性和安全性的方向快速发展。在光电器件领域率先发展了全无机钙钛矿量子点室温合成方法及其QLED发光器件, 被同行在Nature等期刊数十次评价为“首次(first)”、“发起了(initiated)”、“开启了(opened)”。在能源存储领域设计了一种具有层状和尖晶石共生异质结构的LiMnO₂阴极, 为抑制锰基正极材料中的姜-泰勒畸变提供了崭新途径, 推动了可持续性、规模化储能器件的商业化发展。

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