Undesired Bulk Oxidation of LiMn2O4 Increases Overpotential of Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation in Lithium Hydroxide Electrolytes

Chemical and structural changes preceding electrocatalysis obfuscate the nature of the active state of electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which calls for model systems to gain systematic insight. We investigated the effect of bulk oxidation on the overpotential of ink-casted LiMn₂O₄ electrodes by a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) setup and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the K shell core level of manganese ions (Mn−K edge). The cyclic voltammogram of the RRDE disk shows pronounced redox peaks in lithium hydroxide electrolytes with pH between 12 and 13.5, which we assign to bulk manganese redox based on XAS. The onset of the OER is pH-dependent on the scale of the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) with a Nernst slope of −40(4) mV/pH at −5 μA monitored at the RRDE ring. To connect this trend to catalyst changes, we develop a simple model for delithiation of LiMn₂O₄ in LiOH electrolytes, which gives the same Nernst slope of delithiation as our experimental data, i. e., 116(25) mV/pH. From this data, we construct an E^RHE-pH diagram that illustrates robustness of LiMn₂O₄ against oxidation above pH 13.5 as also verified by XAS. We conclude that manganese oxidation is the origin of the increase of the OER overpotential at pH lower than 14 and also of the pH dependence on the RHE scale. Our work highlights that vulnerability to transition metal redox may lead to increased overpotentials, which is important for the design of stable electrocatalysts.     

Thermochemical investigation of Zr doping in LiNi8/12Co2/12Mn2/12O2 based on phase equilibria simulation

The doping behavior of Zr in LiNi_8/12Co_2/12Mn_2/12O₂ (LNCM) is investigated by a simulation of the phase equilibria for the Li-(M^*,Zr)-O system (M^* = Ni, Co, Mn) based on first-principles calculations followed by a thermochemical post-analysis of the resultant phase diagrams. The results indicate that the stable state at the synthetically stoichiometric composition of LNCM with Zr is a mixture of undoped LNCM with a Li₂ZrO₃ secondary phase; doping of Zr in the LNCM crystal is not thermodynamically favored. The energies of various states comprising LNCM supercells with defects, secondary phases, and Zr doping are examined, and the equilibrium doping concentration of Zr is calculated by considering the entire LNCM:Zr crystal as a statistical combination of these states. The doping concentration of Zr in the LNCM crystal is calculated to be very low, which enables balanced control between doping and coating, as recently reported through experimentation. The dopability of Zr is expected to increase with the depletion of O₂ supply during the heating of a system with a precisely controlled Li to M^* ratio, but this behavior is affected by the formation of defects, especially by M^* substitution for Li.     

层状LiMnO_2正极材料的研究进展

层状LiMnO2 化合物的研究是目前锂离子电池正极材料锂锰氧化物研究工作的新热点 ,本文综述了近年来国内外LiMnO2 化合物的研究进展 ,主要阐述了具有层状和扭曲层状结构的m LiMnO2和o LiMnO2 的结构、电性能、合成和改性方法等方面的研究状况 ,重点介绍了离子交换法合成层状LiMnO2 的原因和机理。探索新的合成方法和掺杂其它金属离子改性以提高循环性能是今后LiMnO2 的研究趋势。     

高铁酸钾的合成与电化学性能研究

本文主要研究了锂离子电池正极材料高铁酸钾的合成,表征和电化学性质.用次氯酸钾与硝酸铁于碱性介质中反应得到高铁酸钾粗品,重结晶后成纯度大于97%的产品,用XRD和FTIR等方法对高铁酸钾进行表征和分析.初步研究了K2FeO4/Li电池的充放电性能.     

聚合物锂离子电池阴极热复合聚集状态对电池性能的影响

制备了多层复合的聚合物锂离子电池 ,研究热压复合温度对电池性能的影响 .热压复合温度是聚合物锂离子电池生产中的一个关键控制参数 ,阴极片在合适的热压温度下 ,电池的性能较好 ;温度偏高或偏低都对电池不利     

利用升华物质2,4,6-三异丙基-1,3,5-三氧杂环己烷作模板剂制备聚苯胺包覆的中空硫电极材料

本文首次提出采用升华物质为模板,制备聚苯胺包覆的中空硫电极材料. 首先通过Na₂S₂O₃和稀HCl反应,在具有升华特性的ADD(2,4,6-三异丙基-1,3,5-三氧杂环己烷)微粒表面沉积一层S,然后在S的表面再沉积聚苯胺包覆层. 在经60 ^oC干燥12小时后,其中的ADD自然挥发,得到聚苯胺壳体包覆的中空硫复合物. SEM、TEM和TG分析表明,制得的聚苯胺包覆中空硫的粒径约为2 μm,硫含量为61.1%. 在500 mA·g^-1充放电电流下,首次放电比容量为776.2 mAh·g^-1,库仑效率为95.9%. 100次充放电循环后,放电比容量为524.7 mAh·g^-1. 由于聚苯胺包覆物的聚苯胺膜具有抑制聚硫锂向外的扩散作用,以及包覆物中的空间对放电时S的膨胀具有缓冲作用,聚苯胺包覆中空硫粉末的放电比容量和充放电稳定性均明显高于未包覆聚苯胺的中空硫和化学制备的硫. 这种制备导电聚合物包覆中空硫的新方法具有操作简单、成本低廉的优点,有进一步发展的前景.     

Brush‐First ROMP of poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomers of varied length: impact of polymer architecture on thermal behavior and Li+ conductivity

The properties of polymeric materials are dictated not only by their composition but also by their molecular architecture. Here, by employing brush‐first ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), norbornene‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) macromonomers ( MM‐n , linear architecture), bottlebrush polymers ( Brush‐n , comb architecture), and brush‐arm star polymers ( BASP‐n , star architecture), where n indicates the average degree of polymerization (DP) of PEO, are synthesized. The impact of architecture on the thermal properties and Li⁺ conductivities for this series of PEO architectures is investigated. Notably, in polymers bearing PEO with the highest degree of polymerization, irrespective of differences in architecture and molecular weight (~100‐fold differences), electrolytes with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) as an Li⁺ source exhibit normalized ionic conductivities (σ_n) within only 4.9 times difference (σ_n = 29.8 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 for MM‐45 and σ_n = 6.07 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 for BASP‐45 ) at a concentration of Li⁺ r = [Li⁺]/[EO] = 1/12 at 50 °C. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 448–455     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of submicron LiCoO<Subscript>2</Subscript> synthesized by polymer pyrolysis method

Submicron LiCoO₂ was synthesized by a polymer pyrolysis method using LiOH and Co(NO₃)₂ as the precursor compounds. Experimental results demonstrated that the powders calcined at 800 °C for 12 h appear as well-crystallized, uniform submicron particles with diameter of about 200 nm. As a result, the as-prepared LiCoO₂ electrode displayed excellent electrochemical properties, with an initial discharge capacity of 145.5 mAh/g and capacity retention of 86.1% after 50 cycles when cycled at 50 mA/g between 3.5 and 4.25 V. When cycled between 3.5 and 4.5 V, the discharge capacity increased to 177.9 mAh/g with capacity retention of 85.6% after 50 cycles.     

Synthesis and electrochemical performanceof cobalt disulfide

The anode material cobalt disulfide for lithium-ion batteries was synthesized using the hydrothermal method at a lower temperature. The microstructure and surface morphology of the powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical tests showed that this sample had superior electrochemical properties. The first discharge capacity is up to 1313.9 mAh/g in the voltage range of 3.00–0.02 V at a current density of 50 mA/g. Adjusting the voltage range to 3.00–0.50 V, the first discharge capacity decreases, but the 20th discharge capacity is 435.5 mAh/g, which is better than what has been reported in the literature.     

多孔硅纳米材料的制备及在高能锂电池中的应用

多孔硅纳米材料具有巨大的比表面积,可调控的物理化学性质,在药物治疗、传感、能源储存与转化等领域拥有巨大的应用前景。尤其在高能量密度锂离子电池领域,多孔硅由于其丰富的孔道结构能有效释放充放电过程中硅体积变化带来的巨大应力以及大大地缩短锂离子传输距离,而引起了人们的广泛研究兴趣。但是,开发简便快速的方法来合成结构可调变的多孔硅纳米材料仍是当前研究的挑战。近年来,一些用来合成多孔硅纳米材料的方法已有报道。我们基于本课题组最近的研究进展和近年来相关文献,比较详细综述了近年来多孔硅纳米材料的制备方法以及重点关注其在高能锂电池领域的应用。最后,对多孔硅纳米材料的未来发展方向做了进一步的展望。