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25 pages, 7390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Resorcinol to Sodium Carbonate Ratio on Carbon Xerogel Properties for Aluminium Ion Battery

by Martin Eckert, Heena Suthar and Jean-Francois Drillet

Materials 2022, 15(7), 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15072597 - 01 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4958

Abstract

Carbon xerogels were synthesized using a soft-template route with resorcinol as the carbon source and sodium carbonate as the catalyst. The influence of the resorcinol to catalyst ratio in the range of 500–20,000 on pore structure, graphitic domains, and electronic conductivity of as-prepared [...] Read more.

Carbon xerogels were synthesized using a soft-template route with resorcinol as the carbon source and sodium carbonate as the catalyst. The influence of the resorcinol to catalyst ratio in the range of 500–20,000 on pore structure, graphitic domains, and electronic conductivity of as-prepared carbon xerogels, as well as their performance in an aluminium ion battery (AIB), was investigated. After carbonization steps of the polymers up to 800 °C, all carbon samples exhibited similar specific volumes of micropores (0.7–0.8 cm³ g⁻¹), while samples obtained from mixtures with R/C ratios lower than 2000 led to carbon xerogels with significantly higher mesopore diameters up to 6 nm. The best results, in terms of specific surface (1000 m² g⁻¹), average pore size (6 nm) and reversible capacity in AIB cell (28 mAh g⁻¹ @ 0.1 A g⁻¹), were obtained with a carbon xerogel sample synthetized at a resorcinol to catalyst ratio of R/C = 500 (CXG₅₀₀). Though cyclic voltammograms of carbon xerogel samples did not exhibit any sharp peaks in the applied potential window, the presence of both oxidation and a quite wide reduction peak in CXG_500–2000 cyclic voltammograms indicated pseudocapacitance behaviour induced by diffusion-controlled intercalation/de-intercalation of AlCl₄⁻ ions into/from the carbon xerogel matrix. This was confirmed by shifting of the (002) peak towards lower 2θ angle values in the XRD pattern of the CXG₅₀₀ electrode after the charging step in AIB, whereas the contribution of pseudocapacitance, calculated from half-cell measurements, was limited to only 6% of overall capacitance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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15 pages, 5343 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Silver Nanoparticles Embedded on Reduced Graphene Oxide@Copper Oxide Nanocomposite for High Performance Supercapacitor Applications

by Akhalakur Rahman Ansari, Sajid Ali Ansari, Nazish Parveen, Mohammad Omaish Ansari and Zurina Osman

Materials 2021, 14(17), 5032; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14175032 - 03 Sep 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3062

Abstract

In this work, silver (Ag) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) coated with ultrafine CuO nanosheets (Ag-rGO@CuO) was prepared by the combination of a microwave-assisted hydrothermal route and a chemical methodology. The prepared Ag-rGO@CuO was characterized for its morphological features by field emission scanning [...] Read more.

In this work, silver (Ag) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) coated with ultrafine CuO nanosheets (Ag-rGO@CuO) was prepared by the combination of a microwave-assisted hydrothermal route and a chemical methodology. The prepared Ag-rGO@CuO was characterized for its morphological features by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy while the structural characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis was undertaken to confirm the elemental composition. The electrochemical performance of prepared samples was studied by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge in a 2M KOH electrolyte solution. The CuO nanosheets provided excellent electrical conductivity and the rGO sheets provided a large surface area with good mesoporosity that increases electron and ion mobility during the redox process. Furthermore, the highly conductive Ag nanoparticles upon the rGO@CuO surface further enhanced electrochemical performance by providing extra channels for charge conduction. The ternary Ag-rGO@CuO nanocomposite shows a very high specific capacitance of 612.5 to 210 Fg⁻¹ compared against rGO@CuO which has a specific capacitance of 375 to 87.5 Fg⁻¹ and the CuO nanosheets with a specific capacitance of 113.75 to 87.5 Fg⁻¹ at current densities 0.5 and 7 Ag⁻¹, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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10 pages, 2852 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Positive Effect of ZnS in Waste Tire Carbon as Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

by Xuechen Wang, Lu Zhou, Jianjiang Li, Na Han, Xiaohua Li, Gang Liu, Dongchen Jia, Zhaoli Ma, Guojun Song, Xiaoyi Zhu, Zhi Peng and Lei Zhang

Materials 2021, 14(9), 2178; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092178 - 24 Apr 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2486

Abstract

There is great demand for high-performance, low-cost electrode materials for anodes of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report the recovery of carbon materials by treating waste tire rubber via a facile one-step carbonization process. Electrochemical studies revealed that the waste tire carbon anode [...] Read more.

There is great demand for high-performance, low-cost electrode materials for anodes of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report the recovery of carbon materials by treating waste tire rubber via a facile one-step carbonization process. Electrochemical studies revealed that the waste tire carbon anode had a higher reversible capacity than that of commercial graphite and shows the positive effect of ZnS in the waste tire carbon. When used as the anode for LIBs, waste tire carbon shows a high specific capacity of 510.6 mAh·g⁻¹ at 100 mA·g⁻¹ with almost 97% capacity retention after 100 cycles. Even at a high rate of 1 A·g⁻¹, the carbon electrode presents an excellent cyclic capability of 255.1 mAh·g⁻¹ after 3000 cycles. This high-performance carbon material has many potential applications in LIBs and provide an alternative avenue for the recycling of waste tires. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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10 pages, 2576 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on Fabrication of Reduced Graphene Oxide-Sulfur Composite Cathodes for Li-S Battery via Hydrothermal and Thermal Reduction Methods

by Zhiqi Li, Hao Sun, Yuepeng Pang, Mingming Yu and Shiyou Zheng

Materials 2021, 14(4), 861; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040861 - 11 Feb 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1878

Abstract

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is considered one of the possible alternatives for next-generation high energy batteries. However, its practical applications are still facing great challenges because of poor electronic conductivity, large volume change, and polysulfides dissolution inducing “shuttle reaction” for the S cathode. Many [...] Read more.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is considered one of the possible alternatives for next-generation high energy batteries. However, its practical applications are still facing great challenges because of poor electronic conductivity, large volume change, and polysulfides dissolution inducing “shuttle reaction” for the S cathode. Many strategies have been explored to alleviate the aforementioned concerns. The most common approach is to embed S into carbonaceous matrix for constructing C-S composite cathodes. Herein, we fabricate the C-S cathode reduced graphene oxide-S (rGO-S) composites via one step hydrothermal and in-situ thermal reduction methods. The structural features and electrochemical properties in Li-S cells of the two type rGO-S composites are studied systematically. The rGO-S composites prepared by one step hydrothermal method (rGO-S-HT) show relatively better comprehensive performance as compared with the ones by in-situ thermal reduction method (rGO-S-T). For instance, with a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹, the rGO-S-HT composite cathodes possess an initial capacity of 1290 mAh g⁻¹ and simultaneously exhibit stable cycling capability. In particular, as increasing the current density to 1.0 A g⁻¹, the rGO-S-HT cathode retains a reversible capacity of 582 mAh g⁻¹ even after 200 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical properties can be attributed to small S particles uniformly distributed on rGO sheets enabling to significantly improve the conductivity of S and effectively buffer large volume change during lithiation/delithiation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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21 pages, 5987 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Electrically Rechargeable Zinc/Air Cell with an Aqueous Choline Acetate Electrolyte

by Mariappan Sakthivel, Sai Praneet Batchu, Abbas Ali Shah, Kwangmin Kim, Willi Peters and Jean-Francois Drillet

Materials 2020, 13(13), 2975; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13132975 - 03 Jul 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2634

Abstract

Due to the feasibility of an electrically rechargeable zinc/air cell made of a zinc foil as active material, an aqueous choline acetate (ChAcO) mixture as an electrolyte and a spinel MnCo₂O₄ (MCO) and NiCo₂O₄ (NCO) as a [...] Read more.

Due to the feasibility of an electrically rechargeable zinc/air cell made of a zinc foil as active material, an aqueous choline acetate (ChAcO) mixture as an electrolyte and a spinel MnCo₂O₄ (MCO) and NiCo₂O₄ (NCO) as a bi-functional oxygen catalyst was investigated in this work. The 30 wt.% water-containing aqueous ChAcO solution showed high contact angles close to those of KOH favoring triple-phase boundary formation in the gas diffusion electrode. Conductivity and pH value of 30 wt.% H₂O/ChAcO amounted to 5.9 mS cm⁻¹ and 10.8, respectively. Best results in terms of reversible capacity and longevity of zinc/air cell were yielded during 100 h charge/discharge with the MnCo₂O₄ (MCO) air electrode polarization procedure at 100 µA cm⁻² (2.8 mA g⁻¹_zinc). The corresponding reversible capacity amounted to 25.4 mAh (28% depth of discharge (DOD)) and the energy efficiency ranged from 29–54% during the first and seventh cycle within a 1500 h polarization period. Maximum active material utilization of zinc foil at 100 µA cm⁻² was determined to 38.1 mAh (42% DOD) whereas a further charging step was not possible due to irreversible passivation of the zinc foil surface. A special side-by-side optical cell was used to identify reaction products of the zinc/air system during a single discharge step in aqueous ChAcO that were identified as Zn(OH)₂ and ZnO by Raman analysis while no carbonate was detected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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14 pages, 1200 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Al-Ion and a Li-Ion Battery for Stationary Applications

by Mario Amin Salgado Delgado, Lorenzo Usai, Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen, Qiaoyan Pan and Anders Hammer Strømman

Materials 2019, 12(19), 3270; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193270 - 08 Oct 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6171 | Correction

Abstract

The foreseen high penetration of fluctuant renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, will cause an increased need for batteries to store the energy produced and not instantaneously consumed. Due to the high production cost and significant environmental impacts associated with the [...] Read more.

The foreseen high penetration of fluctuant renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, will cause an increased need for batteries to store the energy produced and not instantaneously consumed. Due to the high production cost and significant environmental impacts associated with the production of lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt (Li-ion NMC) batteries, several chemistries are proposed as a potential substitute. This study aims to identify and compare the lifecycle environmental impacts springing from a novel Al-ion battery, with the current state-of-the-art chemistry, i.e., Li-ion NMC. The global warming potential (GWP) indicator was selected to express the results due to its relevance to society, policy and to facilitate the comparison of our results with other research. The cradle-to-grave process-based assessment uses two functional units: (1) per-cell manufactured and (2) per-Wh of storage capacity. The results identified the battery’s production as the highest carbon intensity phase, being the energy usage the main contributor to GWP. In general, the materials and process involved in the manufacturing and recycling of the novel battery achieve a lower environmental impact in comparison to the Li-ion technology. However, due to the Al-ion’s low energy density, a higher amount of materials are needed to deliver equivalent performance than a Li-ion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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Review

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55 pages, 11987 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Silicon and Iron as Resource-Efficient Anode Materials for Ambient-Temperature Metal-Air Batteries: A Review

by Henning Weinrich, Yasin Emre Durmus, Hermann Tempel, Hans Kungl and Rüdiger-A. Eichel

Materials 2019, 12(13), 2134; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12132134 - 02 Jul 2019

Cited by 48 | Viewed by 9345

Abstract

Metal-air batteries provide a most promising battery technology given their outstanding potential energy densities, which are desirable for both stationary and mobile applications in a “beyond lithium-ion” battery market. Silicon- and iron-air batteries underwent less research and development compared to lithium- and zinc-air [...] Read more.

Metal-air batteries provide a most promising battery technology given their outstanding potential energy densities, which are desirable for both stationary and mobile applications in a “beyond lithium-ion” battery market. Silicon- and iron-air batteries underwent less research and development compared to lithium- and zinc-air batteries. Nevertheless, in the recent past, the two also-ran battery systems made considerable progress and attracted rising research interest due to the excellent resource-efficiency of silicon and iron. Silicon and iron are among the top five of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, which ensures almost infinite material supply of the anode materials, even for large scale applications. Furthermore, primary silicon-air batteries are set to provide one of the highest energy densities among all types of batteries, while iron-air batteries are frequently considered as a highly rechargeable system with decent performance characteristics. Considering fundamental aspects for the anode materials, i.e., the metal electrodes, in this review we will first outline the challenges, which explicitly apply to silicon- and iron-air batteries and prevented them from a broad implementation so far. Afterwards, we provide an extensive literature survey regarding state-of-the-art experimental approaches, which are set to resolve the aforementioned challenges and might enable the introduction of silicon- and iron-air batteries into the battery market in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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Other

Jump to: Research, Review

1 pages, 153 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Salgado Delgado, M.A., et al. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Al-Ion and a Li-Ion Battery for Stationary Applications. Materials 2019, 12, 3270

by Mario Amin Salgado Delgado, Lorenz Usai, Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen, Qiaoyan Pan and Anders Hammer Strømman

Materials 2019, 12(23), 3893; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12233893 - 25 Nov 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1615

Abstract

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Materials for Residential Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems)

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