New Materials for Li-Ion Batteries

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2018) | Viewed by 23132

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Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Interests: multiscale modeling of soft-condensed matter systems; materials for energy applications
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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Interests: multiscale modeling of soft-condensed matter systems; materials for energy applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) based battery technologies represent an omnipresent aspect of energy storage in modern life. Increasing demands for capacity, high power density, increased safety and cycling life for use in automotive applications and various portable devices drive ongoing needs for advances in the design of novel battery materials and systems. Multiple avenues are of interest for improving overall performance and safety of these systems, including investigation of high-voltage cathodes, high-capacity anodes, electrolytes with improved transport and electrochemical stability, design of solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) with desired mechanical and transport characteristics, minimization of self-discharge and electrode degradation, etc. These effects, in turn, may be accomplished either via development of entirely new or modified materials, or through development of new formulations which utilize existing compounds in novel ways to enable better electrochemical performance.

This Special Issue invites manuscripts that discuss experiemental or modeling investigations of new chemical or physical formulations for cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, or solid electrolyte interphases in Li-ion based batteries. These investigations may involve new chemical compounds that show promise as major phases for Li-ion based systems (e.g., high-voltage spinels, LiPON electrolytes, “water-in-salt” electrolytes, etc.), or new methods of processing current compounds to achieve novel structures (e.g., composite graphite/Si anodes, nanostructured composite cathodes), which increase the overall capability of these compounds above their currently utilized configurations.

A potential list of topics may include, but are not limited to, the following areas of exploration:

  • Solid electrolytes (polymer electrolytes, gel electrolytes, solid state ion conductors, etc.)
  • New or novel electrode materials or modifications of currently utilized electrode materials
  • Utilization of existing electrode materials in composite and/or nanostructured compound electrode construction
  • Electrolyte formulations and additive compounds designed to increase performance of electrode passivation layers and SEIs.

Prof. Dr. Dmitry A. Bedrov
Dr. Justin B. Hooper
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • High voltage cathode
  • High capacitance anode
  • Composite electrodes
  • Interdigitated microbattery architectures
  • Solid electrolyte
  • Polymer electrolyte
  • Gel electrolyte
  • Solid electrolyte interphase

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 1721 KiB  
Article
Sucrose-Assisted Synthesis of Layered Lithium-Rich Oxide Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 as a Cathode of Lithium-Ion Battery
by Xueyin Song, Haifu Huang and Wei Zhong
Crystals 2019, 9(9), 436; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst9090436 - 21 Aug 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3951
Abstract
Herein, the lithium-rich material Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 is successfully prepared by a sucrose-assisted gel method. With the assistance of sucrose, Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 precursors can be uniformly dispersed into [...] Read more.
Herein, the lithium-rich material Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 is successfully prepared by a sucrose-assisted gel method. With the assistance of sucrose, Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 precursors can be uniformly dispersed into sticky sucrose gel without aggregation. XRD shows that the lithium-rich material Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 has a well-organized layered structure. The electrochemical performance is influenced by calcination temperature. The results show that the sample Li[Li0.2Mn0.56Ni0.16Co0.08]O2 calcined at 900 °C possess significant performance. This sample delivers higher discharge specific capacity of 252 mAh g−1; rate capability with a capacity retention of 86% when tested at 5C; and excellent cyclic stability with a capacity retention rate of 81% after 100 cycles under 1C test. The sucrose-assisted method shows great potential in fabricating layered lithium-rich materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials for Li-Ion Batteries)
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9 pages, 410 KiB  
Article
Data-Driven Studies of Li-Ion-Battery Materials
by Steven K. Kauwe, Trevor David Rhone and Taylor D. Sparks
Crystals 2019, 9(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst9010054 - 18 Jan 2019
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 7623
Abstract
Batteries are a critical component of modern society. The growing demand for new battery materials—coupled with a historically long materials development time—highlights the need for advances in battery materials development. Understanding battery systems has been frustratingly slow for the materials science community. In [...] Read more.
Batteries are a critical component of modern society. The growing demand for new battery materials—coupled with a historically long materials development time—highlights the need for advances in battery materials development. Understanding battery systems has been frustratingly slow for the materials science community. In particular, the discovery of more abundant battery materials has been difficult. In this paper, we describe how machine learning tools can be exploited to predict the properties of battery materials. In particular, we report the challenges associated with a data-driven investigation of battery systems. Using a dataset of cathode materials and various statistical models, we predicted the specific discharge capacity at 25 cycles. We discuss the present limitations of this approach and propose a paradigm shift in the materials research process that would better allow data-driven approaches to excel in aiding the discovery of battery materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials for Li-Ion Batteries)
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12 pages, 3033 KiB  
Article
Structural, Mechanical, and Dynamical Properties of Amorphous Li2CO3 from Molecular Dynamics Simulations
by Mahsa Ebrahiminia, Justin B. Hooper and Dmitry Bedrov
Crystals 2018, 8(12), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst8120473 - 18 Dec 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5209
Abstract
Structural, mechanical, and transport properties of amorphous Li2CO3 were studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a hybrid MD-Monte Carlo (MC) scheme. A many-body polarizable force field (APPLE&P) was employed in all simulations. Dynamic and mechanical properties of Dilithium carbonate, [...] Read more.
Structural, mechanical, and transport properties of amorphous Li2CO3 were studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a hybrid MD-Monte Carlo (MC) scheme. A many-body polarizable force field (APPLE&P) was employed in all simulations. Dynamic and mechanical properties of Dilithium carbonate, Li2CO3, in amorphous liquid and glassy phases were calculated over a wide temperature range. At higher temperatures, both anion and cation diffusion coefficients showed similar temperature dependence. However, below the glass transition temperature (T < 450 K) the anions formed a glassy matrix, while Li+ continued to be mobile, showing decoupling of cation and anion diffusion. The conductivity of Li+ at room temperature was estimated to be on the order of 10−6 S/cm. Mechanical analysis revealed that at room temperature the amorphous phase had a shear modulus of about 8 GPa, which was high enough to suppress Li metal dendrite growth on an electrode surface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials for Li-Ion Batteries)
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12 pages, 5066 KiB  
Article
Enhanced High Voltage Performance of Chlorine/Bromine Co-Doped Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide
by Huali Zhu, Qifeng Li, Xiaolong Gong, Kaifeng Cao and Zhaoyong Chen
Crystals 2018, 8(11), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst8110425 - 9 Nov 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5586
Abstract
The chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br) co-doped lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2) was successfully synthesized by the molten salt method. The synthesized LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 compound demonstrates spherical morphology, [...] Read more.
The chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br) co-doped lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2) was successfully synthesized by the molten salt method. The synthesized LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 compound demonstrates spherical morphology, which is formed by aggregated spherical-like or polygon primary particles. Halogen substitution would contribute to the growth of the primary particles. The LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 compound has the typical hexagonal layered structure, and no impurity phase is detected. The surface oxidation state of the compound is improved after Cl and Br substitution. Moreover, the Cl and Br co-doped LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 compound exhibits both improved rate capacity and cycle stability at a high voltage (4.6 V) compared with the pristine LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2. The initial discharge capacities of Cl and Br co-doped LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 are 208.9 mAh g−1, 200.6 mAh g−1, 188.2 mAh g−1, 173.3 mAh g−1, and 157.1 mAh g−1 at the corresponding rates of 0.1C, 0.2C, 0.5C, 1C, and 3C respectively. The capacity retention at 1C after 50 cycles is increased from 81.1% to 93.2% by co-doping. The better contact between the electroactive particles of the electrode and the smaller resistance enhance the electric conductivity of the Cl and Br co-doped LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode. The synthesized LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 is a promising cathode material for a high-power and large-capacity lithium-ion battery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials for Li-Ion Batteries)
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