Carbon dioxide-expanded ethanol-assisted synthesis of carbon-based metal composites and their catalytic and electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries

Highly dispersed metals, metal oxides and their composites on substrates have received considerable interest in catalysis and lithium-ion batteries, because of their superior properties compared with their single-component counterparts. In this review, we introduce the properties of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) expanded ethanol, such as low viscosity, near-zero surface tension and high diffusivity. We discuss the deposition procedure and formation mechanism of carbon-based composites in scCO2-expanded ethanol. This method has been used to fabricate several carbon-based composites, such as metal and metal oxide composites deposited on zero-dimensional colloidal carbon, one-dimensional carbon nanotubes, two-dimensional graphene, and three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon. These materials and their performance as anodic materials for lithium-ion batteries will also be reviewed.

Graphical AbstractThe recent advances in supercritical CO2-expanded ethanol assisted deposition of metal (oxide) nanoparticles on different dimensional carbon materials are reviewed. The catalytic and electrochemical performances of the prepared functional composites are introduced.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide