High-Throughput Manufacturing of Lithium Dendrite Suppression Membranes for High-Energy Density Anodeless Lithium Metal Batteries – Final Technical Report
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Abstract not provided
Bulk, surface, and interfacial instabilities that impact the cycle and thermal performances are the major challenges with high-energy-density LiNi 1–x–y Mn x Co y O 2 (NMC) cathodes with high nickel contents. It is generally believed that the instabilities and performance losses become exponentially aggravated as the nickel content increases. Disparate from this prevailing belief, it is herein demonstrated that NMC cathodes with higher Ni contents may imply better overall stability than “lower-Ni” cathodes under an identical degree of delithiation (charging) conditions. With two representative cathodes, LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 and LiNiO 2 , a systematic investigation into their stabilities with control of the degree of delithiation is presented. Electrochemical tests indicate that LiNiO 2 displays better cyclability than LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 at the same delithiation state. Comprehensive structural and interphase investigations unveil that the inferior cyclability of LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 predominantly results from aggravated parasitic reactions, and the interphase stability may be more critical than lattice stability in dictating cyclability. Also, LiNiO 2 delivers similar or better thermal behavior than LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 . Finally, the findings demonstrate a strong correlation of the stability of NMC cathodes to the degree of delithiation state rather than the Ni content itself, highlighting the importance of reassessing the true implications of Ni content and structural and interphasial tuning on the stabilities of NMC cathodes.
Fluorine substitution is a critical enabler for improving the cycle life and energy density of disordered rocksalt (DRX) Li-ion battery cathode materials which offer prospects for high energy density cathodes, without the reliance on limited mineral resources. Due to the strong Li–F interaction, fluorine also is expected to modify the short-range cation order in these materials which is critical for Li-ion transport. In this work, density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations are combined to investigate the impact of Li–F short-range ordering on the formation of Li percolation and diffusion in DRX materials. Additionally, the modeling reveals that F substitution is always beneficial at sufficiently high concentrations and can, surprisingly, even facilitate percolation in compounds without Li excess, giving them the ability to incorporate more transition metal redox capacity and thereby higher energy density. It is found that for F levels below 15%, its effect can be beneficial or disadvantageous depending on the intrinsic short-range order in the unfluorinated oxide, while for high fluorination levels the effects are always beneficial. Using extensive simulations, a map is also presented showing the trade-off between transition-metal capacity, Li-transport, and synthetic accessibility, and two of the more extreme predictions are experimentally confirmed.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The structure, electrochemistry, and thermal stability of concentration gradient core–shell (CGCS) particles with different shell morphologies were evaluated and compared. We modified the shell morphology from nanoparticles to nanorods, because nanorods can result in a reduced surface area of the shell such that the outer shell would have less contact with the corrosive electrolyte, resulting in improved electrochemical properties. Electron microscopy studies coupled with electron probe X-ray micro-analysis revealed the presence of a concentration gradient shell consisting of nanoparticles and nanorods before and after thermal lithiation at high temperature. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction data and the chemical analysis results showed no variations of the lattice parameters and chemical compositions of both produced CGCS particles except for the degree of cation mixing (or exchange) in Li and transition metal layers. As anticipated, the dense nanorods present in the shell gave rise to a high tap density (2.5 g cm3 ) with a reduced pore volume and surface area. Intimate contact among the nanorods is likely to improve the resulting electric conductivity. As a result, the CGCS Li[Ni0.60Co0.15Mn0.25]O2 with the nanorod shell retained approximately 85.5% of its initial capacity over 150 cycles in the range of 2.7–4.5 V at 608C. The charged electrode consisting of Li0.16[Ni0.60Co0.15Mn0.25]O2 CGCS particles with the nanorod shell also displayed a main exothermic reaction at 279.48C releasing 751.7 J g1 of heat. Due to the presence of the nanorod shell in the CGCS particles, the electrochemical and thermal properties are substantially superior to those of the CGCS particles with the nanoparticle shell.
Nanoscale Li-rich Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 material is synthesized by a co-precipitation combined freeze drying (CP-FD) method, and compared with a conventional co-precipitation method combined vacuum drying (CP-VD). With the combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it is found that the sample from CP-FD method consists of a pure phase with good crystallinity and small, homogenous particles (100-300 nm) with uniform particle size distribution. Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) shows that the sample has a stoichiometric ratio of n((Li)): n((Mn)): n((Ni)): n((Co))=9: 4: 1: 1; and its Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area is 5.749 m(2)g(-1). This sample achieves excellent electrochemical properties: its initial discharge capacities are 298.9 mAhg(-1) at 0.1C (20 mAg(-1)), 246.1 mAhg(-1) at 0.5C, 215.8 mAhg(-1) at 1C, and 154.2 mAhg(-1) at 5C (5C charge and 5C discharge), as well as good cycling performance. In addition, the Li+ chemical diffusion coefficient of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 material prepared by the CP-FD method is 4.59 x 10(-11) cm(2) s(-1), which is higher than that of the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 material prepared by CP-VD. This phenomenon illustrates the potential for Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 with good rate performance synthesized by CP-FD method.
The inhomogeneous nucleation and growth of Li dendrite combined with the spontaneous side reactions with the electrolytes dramatically challenge the stability and safety of Li metal anode (LMA). Despite tremendous endeavors, current success relies on the use of significant excess of Li to compensate the loss of active Li during cycling. Herein, a near-surface Li + irrigation strategy is developed to regulate the inhomogeneous Li deposition behavior and suppress the consequent side reactions under limited Li excess condition. The conformal polypyrrole (PPy) coating layer on Cu surface via oxidative chemical vapor deposition technique can induce the migration of Li + to the interregional space between PPy and Cu, creating a near-surface Li + -rich region to smooth diffusion of ion flux and uniform the deposition. Moreover, as evidenced by multiscale characterizations including synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction scanning, a robust N-rich solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) is formed on the PPy skeleton to effectively suppress the undesired SEI formation/dissolution process. Strikingly, stable Li metal cycling performance under a high areal capacity of 10 mAh cm -2 at 2.0 mA cm -2 with merely 0.5 × Li excess is achieved. The findings not only resolve the long-standing poor LMA stability/safety issues, but also deepen the mechanism understanding of Li deposition process.
In this paper, the discharge and charge mechanisms of rechargeable Li-O 2 batteries have been the subject of extensive investigation recently. However, they are not fully understood yet. Here we report a systematic study of the morphological transition of Li 2 O 2 from a single crystalline structure to a toroid like particle during the discharge-charge cycle, with the help of a theoretical model to explain the evolution of the Li 2 O 2 at different stages of this process. The model suggests that the transition starts in the first monolayer of Li 2 O 2 , and is subsequently followed by a transition from particle growth to film growth if the applied current exceeds the exchange current for the oxygen reduction reaction in a Li-O 2 cell. Furthermore, a sustainable mass transport of the diffusive active species (e.g., O 2 and Li + ) and evolution of the underlying interfaces are critical to dictate desirable oxygen reduction (discharge) and evolution (charge) reactions in the porous carbon electrode of a Li-O 2 cell.
Not Available
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The effect of composition on the voltage fade phenomenon was probed using combinatorial synthesis methods. In compositions that have the general formula, (Li 2 MnO 3 ) a (LiNiO 2 ) b (LiMnO 2 ) c (LiCoO 2 ) d , where 0 ≤ a≤0.83, 0.15 ≤ b ≤ 0.42, 0 ≤ c ≤ 0.85, and 0 ≤ d ≤ 0.30 (a + b + c + d = 1), the dependence of features in the x-ray diffraction pattern and of voltage fade on composition were identified and mapped. The observed values of voltage fade indicated that it displayed some sensitivity to composition, but that the sensitivity was not large. The values of voltage fade were found to be amenable to statistical modeling. The model indicated that it may be possible to lower the value of voltage fade below 0.01% by adjusting the composition of the system; however, the composition is not expected to have the layered–layered structure.
ZnO/C hierarchical porous nanorods were synthesized through one-pot wet-chemical reaction followed by thermal calcination. It was found that ZnO/C porous nanorods are composed of numerous nanograins, exhibiting a hierarchical micro/nanostructure. In-situ synchrotron high energy X-ray diffraction study revealed that ZnO/C hierarchical porous nanorods involve a two-step reversible lithiation mechanism during charge/discharge; and part of ZnO and Zn remains at the end of the first discharge and charge process, respectively, leading to a low coulombic efficiency in the initial few cycles. The electrochemical test demonstrated that the reversible capacity and the rate performance of ZnO/C hierarchical porous nanorods anode have been greatly improved by PEDOT-PSS coating, which could maintain a reversible capacity of 623.94 mA h g(-1) after 1500 cycles at 1 C. Its excellent high rate capability and long cycle stability were attributed to the high electronic conductivity of PEDOT-PSS coating layer and the hierarchical structures of ZnO/C porous nanorods. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Not Available
Not Available