Converting an O-vacancy-rich oxide into a multifunctional separator modifier for long-lifespan lithium metal batteries

The lithium metal anode is hailed as the desired "holy grail" for the forthcoming generation of highenergy-density batteries,given its astounding theoretical capacity and low potential.Nonetheless,the formation and growth of dendrites seriously compromise battery life and safety.Herein,an yttriastabilized bismuth oxide(YSB) layer is fabricated on the polypropylene(PP) separator,where YSB reacts with Li anode in-situ in the cell to form a multi-component composite interlayer consisting of Li_(3)Bi,Li_(2)O,and Y_(2)O_(3).The interlayer can function not only as a redistributor to regulate Li^(+) distribution but also as an anion adsorber to increase the Li^(+) transference number from 0.37 to 0.79 for suppressing dendrite nucleation and growth.Consequently,compared with the cell with a baseline separator,those with modified separators exhibit prolonged lifespan in both Li/Li symmetrical cells and Li/Cu half-cells.Notably,the full cells coupled with ultrahigh-loading LiFePO_(4) display an excellent cycling performance of 1700 cycles with a high capacity retention of ~80% at 1 C,exhibiting great potential for practical applications.This work provides a feasible and effective new strategy for separator modification towards building a much-anticipated dendrite-free Li anode and realizing long-lifespan lithium metal batteries.

Cooperation of metal-organic coordination complex separator and wide-temperature-range electrolyte enables safe and high-performance lithium batteries

With the increase of people’s demand,it is extremely desired for developing high-safety,widetemperature-range and high-energy-density lithium batteries,but huge challenges are remained due to shrinkage and combustion of commonly used polyolefin separators at high temperatures,as well as narrow usable temperature range and high flammability of conventionally commercialized liquid electrolytes.In this work,we report a multifunctional separator mainly consisting of Zn^(2+)-phytate coordination complex nanoparticles and bacterial cellulose nanofibers,named the BZP separator,which possesses high porosity,excellent thermotolerance,good flame retardancy,abilities of anion binding and Ni^(2+)capturing.Through cooperating with the fluoride-free wide-temperature-range electrolyte,Li//LiFePO_(4) cells not only deliver discharge capacities of 110.39 mA h g^(-1)and 113.25 mA h g^(-1)after 2200 cycles (2 C) and1600 cycles (5 C) at 25℃,with capacity retentions of 76.59%and 86.09%,respectively,but also exhibit excellent cycling performance at 80℃ and-40℃.Significantly,the Li//NCM811 cell with a loading of7.8 mg cm^(-2)delivers a discharge capacity of 146.64 mA h g^(-1)after 200 cycles at 0.5 C,with a capacity retention of 89.03%.In addition,pouch cells can work at 120℃ and have low flammability.

A surfactant-modified composite separator for high safe lithium ion battery

Separators have been gaining increasing attention to improve the performance of lithium ion batteries(LIBs),especially for high safe and long cycle life.However,commercial polyolefin separators still face the problems of rapid capacity decay and safety issues due to the poor wettability with electrolytes and low thermal stability.Herein,a novel composite separator is proposed by introducing a surfactant of sodium dodecyl thiosulfate(SDS)into the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)substrate with the binder of polyacrylic acid(PAA)through the suction filtration method.The introduction of PAA/SDS enhances the adsorption energy between PTFE substrate and electrolyte through density functional theory calculations,which improves wettability and electrolyte uptake of the separator significantly.The asachieved composite separator enables the LIBs to own high Li^(+)conductivity(0.64×10^(-3)S cm^(-1))and Li^(+)transference number(0.63),further leading to a high capacity retention of 93.50%after 500 cycles at 1 C.In addition,the uniform and smooth surface morphology of Li metal employed the composite separator after cycling indicates that the lithium dendrites can be successfully inhibited.This work indicates a promising route for the preparation of a novel composite separator for high safe LIBs.

Dependence of lithium metal battery performances on inherent separator porous structure regulation

Boosting of rechargeable lithium metal batteries(LMBs) holds challenges because of lithium dendrites germination and high-reactive surface feature.Separators may experience structure-determined chemical deterioration and worsen Li plating-stripping behaviors when smoothly shifting from lithium-ion batteries(LIBs) to LMBs.This study precisely regulations the crystal structure of β-polypropylene and separator porous construction to investigate the intrinsic porous structure and mechanical properties determined electrochemical performances and cycling durability of LMBs.Crystal structure characterizations,porous structure analyses,and electrochemical cycling tests uncover appropriate annealing thermal stimulation concentrates β-lamellae thickness and enhances lamellae thermal stability by rearranging molecular chain in inferior β-lamellae,maximally homogenizing biaxial tensile deformation and resultant porous constructions.These even pores with high connectivity lower ion migration barriers,alleviate heterogeneous Li^(+) flux dispersion,stabilize reversible Li plating-stripping behaviors,and hinder coursing and branching of Li dendrites,endowing steady cell cycling durability,especially at higher currents due to the highlighted uncontrollable cumulation of dead Li,which offers new insights for the current pursuit of high-power density battery and fast charging technology.The suggested separator structure-chemical nature functions in ensuring cyclic cell stability and builds reliable relationships between separator structure design and practical LMBs applications.

Plasma Modified Polypropylene Membranes as the Lithium-Ion Battery Separators

To reduce the thermal shrinkage of the polymeric separators and improve the safety of the Li-ion batteries,plasma treatment and plasma enhanced vapor chemical deposition（PECVD）of SiO_x-like are carried out on polypropylene（PP）separators,respectively.Critical parameters for separator properties,such as the thermal shrinkage rate,porosity,wettability,and mechanical strength,are evaluated on the plasma treated PP membranes.O_2 plasma treatment is found to remarkably improve the wettability,porosity and electrolyte uptake.PECVD SiO_x-like coatings are found to be able to effectively reduce the thermal shrinkage rate of the membranes and increase the ionic conductivity.The electrolyte-philicity of the Si Ox-like coating surface can be tuned by the varying O_2 content in the gas mixture during the deposition.Though still acceptable,the mechanical strength is reduced after PECVD,which is due to the plasma etching.

Urchin-like Co3O4 Nanostructure and Their Electrochemical Behavior in Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery

3D urchin-like Co3O4 have been successfully prepared by calcination of the urchin-like precursors, which were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal route. The morphology and structure of the 3D urchin-like Co3O4 have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The as-synthesized Co3O4 products are of urchin-like structures with approximated 5-7 μm in diameter, and are composed of numerous nanoparticles chains with the particles diameter of about 15 nm. This kind of urchin-like Co3O4 exhibits superior energy storage properties with the high capacity of 1.369 Ah/g and its good cyclic stability shows great potential in the rechargeable Li-ion battery.

Design of multifunctional polymeric binders in silicon anodes for lithium‐ion batteries

Silicon(Si)is a promising anode material for lithium‐ion batteries(LIBs)owing to its tremendously high theoretical storage capacity(4200 mAh g−1),which has the potential to elevate the energy of LIBs.However,Si anodes exhibit severe volume change during lithiation/delithiation processes,resulting in anode pulverization and delamination with detrimental growth of solid electrolyte interface layers.As a result,the cycling stability of Si anodes is insufficient for commercialization in LIBs.Polymeric binders can play critical roles in Si anodes by affecting their cycling stability,although they occupy a small portion of the electrodes.This review introduces crucial factors influencing polymeric binders'properties and the electrochemical performance of Si anodes.In particular,we emphasize the structure–property relationships of binders in the context of molecular design strategy,functional groups,types of interactions,and functionalities of binders.Furthermore,binders with additional functionalities,such as electrical conductivity and self‐healability,are extensively discussed,with an emphasis on the binder design principle.

Influence of synthesis temperature on electrochemical performance of polyoxomolybdate as cathode material of lithium ion battery

In order to improve the electrochemical performance of polyoxomolybdate Na3[AlMo6O24H6]（NAM） as the cathode material of lithium ion battery, the NAM materials with small particle size were synthesized by elevatingthe synthesistemperaturein the solution.The as-prepared NAM materials were investigated by FT-IR, XRD, SEM and EIS. Their discharge-charge and cycle performance were also tested. The resultsshowthat the particle size decreasesto less than10μm at the temperature ofhigher than 40℃.When synthesized at 80℃,the NAMwiththe smallest particle size （-3μm）exhibitsthe best electrochemical performance such ashigh initial discharge capacity of 409 mA·h/gandcoulombic efficiency of 95% in the first cycle at 0.04C.

Multilevel carbon architecture of subnanoscopic silicon for fast‐charging high‐energy‐density lithium‐ion batteries

Silicon(Si)is widely used as a lithium‐ion‐battery anode owing to its high capacity and abundant crustal reserves.However,large volume change upon cycling and poor conductivity of Si cause rapid capacity decay and poor fast‐charging capability limiting its commercial applications.Here,we propose a multilevel carbon architecture with vertical graphene sheets(VGSs)grown on surfaces of subnanoscopically and homogeneously dispersed Si–C composite nanospheres,which are subsequently embedded into a carbon matrix(C/VGSs@Si–C).Subnanoscopic C in the Si–C nanospheres,VGSs,and carbon matrix form a three‐dimensional conductive and robust network,which significantly improves the conductivity and suppresses the volume expansion of Si,thereby boosting charge transport and improving electrode stability.The VGSs with vast exposed edges considerably increase the contact area with the carbon matrix and supply directional transport channels through the entire material,which boosts charge transport.The carbon matrix encapsulates VGSs@Si–C to decrease the specific surface area and increase tap density,thus yielding high first Coulombic efficiency and electrode compaction density.Consequently,C/VGSs@Si–C delivers excellent Li‐ion storage performances under industrial electrode conditions.In particular,the full cells show high energy densities of 603.5 Wh kg^(−1)and 1685.5 Wh L^(−1)at 0.1 C and maintain 80.7%of the energy density at 3 C.

Regulation of Lithium-Ion Flux by Nanotopology Lithiophilic Boron-Oxygen Dipole in Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium-Metal Batteries

Inhomogeneous lithium-ion(Li^(+))deposition is one of the most crucial problems,which severely deteriorates the performance of solid-state lithium metal batteries(LMBs).Herein,we discovered that covalent organic framework(COF-1)with periodically arranged boron-oxygen dipole lithiophilic sites could directionally guide Li^(+)even deposition in asymmetric solid polymer electrolytes.This in situ prepared 3D cross-linked network Poly(ACMO-MBA)hybrid electrolyte simultaneously delivers outstanding ionic conductivity(1.02×10^(-3)S cm^(-1)at 30°C)and excellent mechanical property(3.5 MPa).The defined nanosized channel in COF-1 selectively conducts Li^(+)increasing Li^(+)transference number to 0.67.Besides,The COF-1 layer and Poly(ACMO-MBA)also participate in forming a boron-rich and nitrogen-rich solid electrolyte interface to further improve the interfacial stability.The Li‖Li symmetric cell exhibits remarkable cyclic stability over 1000 h.The Li‖NCM523 full cell also delivers an outstanding lifespan over 400 cycles.Moreover,the Li‖LiFePO_(4)full cell stably cycles with a capacity retention of 85%after 500 cycles.the Li‖LiFePO_(4)pouch full exhibits excellent safety performance under pierced and cut conditions.This work thereby further broadens and complements the application of COF materials in polymer electrolyte for dendrite-free and high-energy-density solid-state LMBs.

Ultra-lightweight Ti3C2Tx MXene modified separator for Li–S batteries:Thickness regulation enabled polysulfide inhibition and lithium ion transportation

The practical application of lithium–sulfur(Li–S)batteries is limited by the easy dissolution of polysulfides in the electrolyte,resulting in the lithium polysulfide(LPS)shuttle effect.Several two-dimensional(2D)materials with abundant active binding sites and high surface-to-volume ratios have been developed to prepare functional separators that suppress the diffusion of polysulfides.However,the influence of modified layer thickness on Li+transport has not been considered.Herein,we synthesized individual and multilayered 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets and used them to fabricate a series of Ti3C2Tx-PP modified separators.The separators had mass loadings ranging from 0.16 to 0.016 mg cm-2,which is the lowest value reported for 2D materials to the best of our knowledge.The corresponding reductions in thickness ranged from 1.2μm to 100 nm.LPS shuttling was effectively suppressed,even at the lowest mass loading of 0.016 mg cm-2.Suppression was due to the strong interaction between LPS intermediates and Ti atoms and hydroxyl functional groups on the separator surface.The lithium-ion diffusion coefficient increased with the reduction of Ti3C2Tx layers on the separator.Superior cycling stability and rate performance were attained when the separator with a Ti3C2Tx-PP mass loading of 0.016 mg cm-2 was incorporated into a Li–S battery.Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)were introduced into the separators to further improve the electrical and Li+ionic conductivity in the cross-plane direction of the 2D Ti3C2Txlayers.With the ultralightweight Ti3C2Tx/CNTs modified PP separator,the cell maintained a capacity of 640 m Ah g-1after 200cycles at 1C with a capacity decay of only 0.079%per cycle.

A Nonlinear Observer Approach of SOC Estimation Based on Hysteresis Model for Lithium-ion Battery

In this paper, a state of charge U+0028 SOC U+0029 estimation approach for lithium-ion battery based on equivalent circuit model and the input-to-state stability U+0028 ISS U+0029 theory has been proposed. According to the electrochemical performance of lithiumion battery, the equivalent circuit model with two RC networks is established, which includes hysteresis characteristic in inner electrochemical response process. The nonlinear relation between open circuit voltage U+0028 OCV U+0029 and SOC is obtained from a rapid test. Exponential fitting method is used to identify the parameters of the model. A novel state observer based on ISS theory is designed for lithium-ion battery SOC estimation. The designed observer is tested on AMESim and Simulink co-simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed method has a high SOC estimation accuracy with an error of about 2 percent. © 2017 Chinese Association of Automation.

The Surface Coating of Commercial LiFePO_4 by Utilizing ZIF-8 for High Electrochemical Performance Lithium Ion Battery

The requirement of energy-storage equipment needs to develop the lithium ion battery(LIB) with high electrochemical performance. The surface modification of commercial LiFePO_4(LFP) by utilizing zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8(ZIF-8) offers new possibilities for commercial LFP with high electrochemical performances.In this work, the carbonized ZIF-8(C_(ZIF-8)) was coated on the surface of LFP particles by the in situ growth and carbonization of ZIF-8. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that there is an approximate 10 nm coating layer with metal zinc and graphite-like carbon on the surface of LFP/C_(ZIF-8) sample. The N_2 adsorption and desorptionisotherm suggests that the coating layer has uniform and simple connecting mesopores. As cathode material, LFP/C_(ZIF-8) cathode-active material delivers a discharge specific capacity of 159.3 m Ah g^(-1) at 0.1 C and a discharge specific energy of 141.7 m Wh g^(-1) after 200 cycles at 5.0 C(the retention rate is approximate 99%). These results are attributed to the synergy improvement of the conductivity,the lithium ion diffusion coefficient, and the degree of freedom for volume change of LFP/C_(ZIF-8) cathode. This work will contribute to the improvement of the cathode materials of commercial LIB.

Surface modification of polyolefin separators for lithium ion batteries to reduce thermal shrinkage without thickness increase

Surface chemical modification of polyolefin separators for lithium ion batteries is attempted to reduce the thermal shrinkage, which is im- portant for the battery energy density. In this study, we grafted organic/inorganic hybrid crosslinked networks on the separators, simply by grafting polymerization and condensation reaction. The considerable silicon-oxygen crosslinked heat-resistance networks are responsible for the reduced thermal shrinkage. The strong chemical bonds between networks and separators promise enough mechanical support even at high temperature. The shrinkage at 150 ℃ for 30 min in the mechanical direction was 38.6% and 4.6% for the pristine and present graft-modified separators, respectively. Meanwhile, the grafting organic-inorganic hybrid crosslink networks mainly occupied part of void in the internal pores of the separators, so the thicknesses of the graft-modified separators were similar with the pristine one. The half cells prepared with the modified separators exhibited almost identical electrochemical properties to those with the commercial separators, thus proving that, in order to enhance the thermal stability of lithium ion battery, this kind of grafting-modified separators may be a better alternative to conventional silica nanoparticle layers-coated polyolefin separators.

Nb_2O_5-carbon core-shell nanocomposite as anode material for lithium ion battery

Nb2O5-carbon nanocomposite is synthesized through a facile one-step hydrothermal reaction from sucrose as the carbon source, and stuclled as an anode material for high-performance lithium ion battery. The structural characterizations reveal that the nanocomposite possesses a core-shell structure with a thin layer of carbon shell homogeneously coated on the Nb2O5 nanocrystals. Such a unique structure enables the composite electrode with a long cycle life by preventing the Nb2O5 from volume change and pulverization during the charge-discharge process. In addition, the carbon shell efficiently improves the rate capability. Even at a current density of 500 mA.g-1, the composite electrode still exhibits a specific capacity of ~100 mAh.g-1. These results suggest the possibility to utilize the Nb2O5-carbon core-shell composite as a high performance anode material in the practical application of lithium ion battery.

Polyoxovanadate(NH_4)_7[MnV_(13)O_(38)] as cathode material for lithium ion battery and improved electrochemical performance

The polyoxovanadate（NH4）7[MnV13O38]（AMV） was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and field emission scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In order to improve the electrochemical performance of AMV, the particle size of as-prepared AMV is decreased to nanoscale by re-precipitation in the water-ethanol solution. The results of the electrochemical impedance spectra and the 4-pin probe measurements show that the electrical conductivity of AMV is improved by decreasing the particle size. The nanoparticle AMV shows higher initial discharge capacity and energy density than the as-prepared AMV when cycled at 0.5C. On the other hand, the nanoparticle AMV exhibits higher rate capability than the as-prepared AMV.

Rational design on separators and liquid electrolytes for safer lithium-ion batteries

As the energy density of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) continues to increase,their safety has become a great concern for further practical large-scale applications.One of the ultimate solution of the safety issue is to develop intrinsically safe battery components,where the battery separators and liquid electrolytes are critical for the battery thermal runaway process.In this review,we summarize recent progress in the rational materials design on battery separators and liquid electrolyte towards the goal of improving the safety of LIBs.Also,some strategies for further improving safety of LIBs are also briefly outlooked.

First-principles study of interphase Ni_3Sn in Sn-Ni alloy for anode of lithium ion battery

This paper investigates the mechanism of Li insertion into interphase Ni3Sn in Ni-Sn alloy for the anode of lithium ion battery by means of the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential. Compared with other phases, it is found that the Ni3Sn has larger relative expansion ratio and lower electrochemical potential, with its specific plateaus voltage around 0.3 eV when lithium atoms are filled in all octahedral interstitial sites, and the relative expansion ratio increasing dramatically when the lithiated phase transits from octahedral interstitial sites to tetrahedral interstitial sites. So this phase is a devastating phase for whole alloy electrode materials.

NiCo-LDH/Ti3C2 MXene hybrid materials for lithium ion battery with high-rate capability and long cycle life

Nickel/cobalt-layered double hydroxides(Ni Co-LDH) have been attracted increasing interest in the applications of anode materials for lithium ion battery(LIB), but the low cycle stability and rate performance are still limited its practice applications. To achieve high performance LIB, the surface-confined strategy has been applied to design and fabricate a new anode material of NiCo-LDH nanosheet anchored on the surface of Ti3C2 MXene(Ni Co-LDH/Ti3C2). The ultra-thin, bended and wrinkled α-phase crystal with an interlayer spacing of 8.1 ? can arrange on the conductive substrates Ti3C2 MXene directly, resulting in high electrolyte diffusion ability and low internal resistance. Furthermore, chemical bond interactions between the highly conductive Ti3C2 MXene and Ni Co-LDH nanosheets can greatly increase the ion and electron transport and reduce the volume expansion of NiCo-LDH during Li ion intercalation. As expected,the discharge capacity of 562 m Ah g-1 at 5.0 A g-1 for 800 cycles without degradation can be achieved,rate capability and cycle performance are better than that of NiCo-LDH(~100 mAh g-1). Furthermore, the density function theory(DFT) calculations were performed to demonstrate that Ni Co-LDH/Ti3C2 system can be used as a highly desirable and promising anode material for lithium ion battery.

The efficiency and toxicity of dodecafluoro-2-methylpentan-3-one in suppressing lithium-ion battery fire

Currently,the effective and clean suppression of lithium-ion battery(LIB)fires remains a challenge.The present work investigates the use of various inhibitor doses(Xin)of dodecafluoro-2-methylpentan-3-one(C_(6) F_(12)O)in 300 Ah LIBs,and systematically examines the thermal and toxic hazards of the extinguished batteries via real scale combustion and gas analysis.The inhibitor is shown to be completely effective.The inhibition mechanism involves a combination of chemical inhibition and physical cooling.While the chemical inhibition effect tends to saturate with increasing Xin,the physical cooling remains effective at higher inhibitor doses.However,extinguishing the battery fire with a high Xin of C_(6)F_(12)O is found to incur serious toxicity problems.These results are expected to provide a guideline for the design of inhibitor doses for the suppression of LIB fires.