| Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Chemistry-Synthesis Technology College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014 P. R. China;2. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Chemistry-Synthesis Technology College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014 P. R. China These authors contributed equally to this work;3. State Key Lab of Silicon Materials School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 P. R. China;4. BTR new energy materials inc., Shenzhen, P. R. China |
| Abstract: | In this work, we introduce Ni nanopyramid arrays (NPAs) supported amorphous Ge anode architecture and demonstrate its effective improvement in sodium storage properties. The Ni−Ge NPAs are prepared by facile electrodeposition and sputtering method, which eliminates the need for any binder or conductive additive when used as a Na-ion battery anode. The electrodes display stable cycling performance and enhanced rate capabilities in contrast with planar Ge electrodes, which can be owing to the rational design of the architectured electrodes and firm bonding between current collector and active material (i. e. Ni and Ge, respectively). To validate improvement of nanostructures on electrochemical performance, sodium insertion behavior of crystalline Ge derived from Mg2Ge precursor has been investigated, in which limited but effective enhancement of sodium storage properties are realized by introducing porous nanostructure in crystalline Ge. These results show that elaborately designed configuration of Ge electrodes may be a promising anode for Na-ion battery applications. |
