Abstract Ion‐insertion capacitors show promise to bridge the gap between supercapacitors of high power densities and batteries of high energy densities. While research efforts have primarily focused on Li+‐based capacitors (LICs), Na+‐based capacitors (SICs) are theoretically cheaper and more sustainable. Owing to the larger size of Na+compared to Li+, finding high‐rate anode materials for SICs has been challenging. Herein, an SIC anode architecture is reported consisting of TiO2nanoparticles anchored on a sheared‐carbon nanotubes backbone (TiO2/SCNT). The SCNT architecture provides advantages over other carbon architectures commonly used, such as reduced graphene oxide and CNT. In a half‐cell, the TiO2/SCNT electrode shows a capacity of 267 mAh g−1at a 1 C charge/discharge rate and a capacity of 136 mAh g−1at 10 C while maintaining 87% of initial capacity over 1000 cycles. When combined with activated carbon (AC) in a full cell, an energy density and power density of 54.9 Wh kg−1and 1410 W kg−1, respectively, are achieved while retaining a 90% capacity retention over 5000 cycles. The favorable rate capability, energy and power density, and durability of the electrode is attributed to the enhanced electronic and Na+conductivity of the TiO2/SCNT architecture.
more »
« less
A mechanistic study of mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticle negative electrode materials with varying crystallinity for lithium ion batteries
Nanoscale oxide-based negative electrodes are of great interest for lithium ion batteries due to their high energy density, power density and enhanced safety. In this work, we conducted a case study on mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticle negative electrodes with uniform size and varying crystallinity in order to investigate the trend in the electrochemical properties of oxide-based nanoscale negative electrodes with varying crystallinity. Mesoporous solid spherical TiO 2 nanoparticles with a uniform particle size and varying crystallinity, i.e. , amorphous TiO 2 (A-TiO 2 ), partially crystalline TiO 2 (PC-TiO 2 ) and fully crystalline TiO 2 (FC-TiO 2 ) nanoparticles were studied. At low current rate (quasi steady-state), the specific capacity of the samples drops with the decrease of crystallinity. Ex situ synchrotron pair distribution function analysis reveals that the 1D zigzag Li ion diffusion pathway becomes expanded with the increase of crystallinity, which promotes ion mobility and charge storage. At high current rates (away from equilibrium states), however, the A-TiO 2 sample demonstrates slightly larger capacity than the FC-TiO 2 sample, both of which show larger capacities than that of the PC-TiO 2 sample. Both A-TiO 2 and FC-TiO 2 samples exhibit higher capacitive contribution to the charge storage and larger Li + diffusivity than those of the PC-TiO 2 sample, which explains their better rate capability. Moreover, the larger Li + diffusivity of the A-TiO 2 sample leads to the slightly larger specific capacity than the FC-TiO 2 sample at the highest current rate.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1658076
- PAR ID:
- 10132576
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- ISSN:
- 2050-7488
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Nb16W5O55 emerged as a high-rate anode material for Li-ion batteries in 2018 [Griffith et al., Nature2018, 559 (7715), 556−563]. This exciting discovery ignited research in Wadsley−Roth (W−R) compounds, but systematic experimental studies have not focused on how to tune material chemistry and structure to achieve desirable properties for energy storage applications. In this work, we systematically investigate how structure and composition influences capacity, Li-ion diffusivity, charge−discharge profiles, and capacity loss in a series of niobium tungsten oxide W−R compounds: (3 × 4)-Nb12WO33, (4 × 4)-Nb14W3O44, and (4 × 5)-Nb16W5O55. Potentiostatic intermittent titration (PITT) data confirmed that Li-ion diffusivity increases with block size, which can be attributed to an increasing number of tunnels for Li-ion diffusion. The small (3 × 4)-Nb12WO33 block size compound with preferential W ordering on tetrahedral sites exhibits single electron redox and, therefore, the smallest measured capacity despite having the largest theoretical capacity. This observation signals that introducing cation disorder (W occupancy at the octahedral sites in the block center) is a viable strategy to assess multi-electron redox behavior in (3 × 4) Nb12WO33. The asymmetric block size compounds [i.e., (3 × 4) and (4 × 5) blocks] exhibit the greatest capacity loss after the first cycle, possibly due to Li-ion trapping at a unique low energy pocket site along the shear plane. Finally, the slope of the charge−discharge profile increases with increasing block size, likely because the total number of energy-equivalent Li-ion binding sites also increases. This unfavorable characteristic prohibits the large block sizes from delivering constant power at a fixed C-rate more so than the smaller block sizes. Based on these findings, we discuss design principles for Li-ion insertion hosts made from W−R materials.more » « less
-
Abstract A vertically aligned carbon nanofiber (VACNF) array with unique conically stacked graphitic structure directly grown on a planar Cu current collector (denoted as VACNF/Cu) is used as a high‐porosity 3D host to overcome the commonly encountered issues of Li metal anodes. The excellent electrical conductivity and highly active lithiophilic graphitic edge sites facilitate homogenous coaxial Li plating/stripping around each VACNF and forming a uniform solid electrolyte interphase. The high specific surface area effectively reduces the local current density and suppresses dendrite growth during the charging/discharging processes. Meanwhile, this open nanoscale vertical 3D structure eliminates the volume changes during Li plating/stripping. As a result, highly reversible Li plating/stripping with high coulombic efficiency is achieved at various current densities. A low voltage hysteresis of 35 mV over 500 h in symmetric cells is achieved at 1 mA cm−2with an areal Li plating capacity of 2 mAh cm−2, which is far superior to the planar Cu current collector. Furthermore, a Li–S battery using a S@PAN cathode and a lithium‐plated VACNF/Cu (VACNF/Cu@Li) anode with slightly higher capacity (2 mAh cm−2) exhibits an excellent rate capability and high cycling stability with no capacity fading over 600 cycles.more » « less
-
Abstract A colloidal‐amphiphile‐templated growth is developed to synthesize mesoporous complex oxides with highly crystalline frameworks. Organosilane‐containing colloidal templates can convert into thermally stable silica that prevents the overgrowth of crystalline grains and the collapse of the mesoporosity. Using ilmenite CoTiO3as an example, the high crystallinity and the extraordinary thermal stability of its mesoporosity are demonstrated at 800 °C for 48 h under air. This synthetic approach is general and applicable to a series of complex oxides that are not reported with mesoporosity and high crystallinity, such as NiTiO3, FeTiO3, ZnTiO3, Co2TiO4, Zn2TiO4, MgTi2O5, and FeTi2O5. Those novel materials make it possible to build up correlations between mesoscale porosity and surface‐sensitive physicochemical properties, e.g., electromagnetic response. For mesoporous CoTiO3, there is a 3 K increase of its antiferromagnetic ordering temperature, compared with that of nonporous one. This finding provides a general guideline to design mesoporous complex oxides that allow exploring their unique properties different from bulk materials.more » « less
-
In this study, we present an investigation aimed at characterizing and understanding the synergistic interactions in encapsulated catalytic structures between the metal core ( i.e. , Pd) and oxide shell ( i.e. , TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and CeO 2 ). Encapsulated catalysts were synthesized using a two-step procedure involving the initial colloidal synthesis of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) capped by various ligands and subsequent sol–gel encapsulation of the NPs with porous MO 2 (M = Ti, Zr, Ce) shells. The encapsulated catalytic systems displayed higher activity than the Pd/MO 2 supported structures due to unique physicochemical properties at the Pd–MO 2 interface. Pd@ZrO 2 exhibited the highest catalytic activity for CO oxidation. Results also suggested that the active sites in Pd encapsulated by an amorphous ZrO 2 shell structure were significantly more active than the crystalline oxide encapsulated structures at low temperatures. Furthermore, CO DRIFTS studies showed that Pd redispersion occurred under CO oxidation reaction conditions and as a function of the oxide shell composition, being observed in Pd@TiO 2 systems only, with potential formation of smaller NPs and oxide-supported Pd clusters after reaction. This investigation demonstrated that metal oxide composition and (in some cases) crystallinity play major roles in catalyst activity for encapsulated catalytic systems.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

