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    Filled carbon nanotubes as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2020) Thauer, E.; Ottmann, A.; Schneider, P.; Möller, L.; Deeg, L.; Zeus, R.; Wilhelmi, F.; Schlestein, L.; Neef, C.; Ghunaim, R.; Gellesch, M.; Nowka, C.; Scholz, M.; Haft, M.; Wurmehl, S.; Wenelska, K.; Mijowska, E.; Kapoor, A.; Bajpai, A.; Hampel, S.; Klingeler, R.
    Downsizing well-established materials to the nanoscale is a key route to novel functionalities, in particular if different functionalities are merged in hybrid nanomaterials. Hybrid carbon-based hierarchical nanostructures are particularly promising for electrochemical energy storage since they combine benefits of nanosize effects, enhanced electrical conductivity and integrity of bulk materials. We show that endohedral multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT) encapsulating high-capacity (here: conversion and alloying) electrode materials have a high potential for use in anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIB). There are two essential characteristics of filled CNT relevant for application in electrochemical energy storage: (1) rigid hollow cavities of the CNT provide upper limits for nanoparticles in their inner cavities which are both separated from the fillings of other CNT and protected against degradation. In particular, the CNT shells resist strong volume changes of encapsulates in response to electrochemical cycling, which in conventional conversion and alloying materials hinders application in energy storage devices. (2) Carbon mantles ensure electrical contact to the active material as they are unaffected by potential cracks of the encapsulate and form a stable conductive network in the electrode compound. Our studies confirm that encapsulates are electrochemically active and can achieve full theoretical reversible capacity. The results imply that encapsulating nanostructures inside CNT can provide a route to new high-performance nanocomposite anode materials for LIB.
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    Single-crystalline FeCo nanoparticle-filled carbon nanotubes: Synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic properties
    (Frankfurt am Main : Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften, 2018) Ghunaim, R.; Scholz, M.; Damm, C.; Rellinghaus, B.; Klingeler, R.; Büchner, B.; Mertig, M.; Hampel, S.
    In the present work, we demonstrate different synthesis procedures for filling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with equimolar binary nanoparticles of the type Fe-Co. The CNTs act as templates for the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticles and provide a protective shield against oxidation as well as prevent nanoparticle agglomeration. By variation of the reaction parameters, we were able to tailor the sample purity, degree of filling, the composition and size of the filling particles, and therefore, the magnetic properties. The samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Fe-Co-filled CNTs show significant enhancement in the coercive field as compared to the corresponding bulk material, which make them excellent candidates for several applications such as magnetic storage devices.