Using tobacco mosaic virus template for the fabrication of three-dimensional hierarchical microbattery electrodes with high energy and high power density

Abstract

We present a novel approach for the fabrication of lithium-ion microbattery electrodes which deliver high energy and high power density. The key enabling technology is the use of self-assembled <i>Tobacco mosaic</i> virus (TMV) nanoforests as a template for active battery materials. The self-assembling TMV is a genetically modified biological nanorod with increased metal binding properties for enhanced manufacturability. High energy density is achieved due to the active surface area increase within a given footprint by combining TMV with three-dimensional (3D) microfabricated structures. The TMV nanostructure enables high power density through larger electrode/electrolyte contact area and faster charge transport. The electrodes consist of an array of electroplated gold micropillars. The pillars are coated with the self-assembled nanoscale TMV template and subsequently metalized in-place. Active battery material (V₂O₅) is conformally deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the hierarchical micro/nano network. Electrochemical testing of these electrodes indicates a 3-5 fold increase in energy density, compared to the TMV-templated electrodes without micropillars, without increasing footprint area or reducing rate performance. Further increase in energy density can be achieved by increasing surface area of 3D microelements as demonstrated by fabrication and electrochemical testing of the electrodes with hollow gold micropillars. Scaling up energy density by increasing active material thickness beyond 100 nm revealed some loss in surface area which highlighted the importance of nanoscale engineering for achieving maximum energy and power density in energy storage systems.