Rechargeable Battery Technology Research Articles

Bio-Based Binder Development for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The development of rechargeable lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology has facilitated the shift toward electric vehicles and grid storage solutions. This technology is currently undergoing significant development to meet industrial applications for portable electronics and provide our society with "greener" electricity. The large increase in LIB production following the growing demand from the automotive sector has led to the establishment of gigafactories worldwide, thus increasing the substantial consumption of fossil-based and non-sustainable materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride and/or styrene-butadiene rubber as binders in cathode and anode formulations. Furthermore, the use of raw resources, such as Li, Ni, and Mn in cathode active materials and graphite and nanosilicon in anodes, necessitates further efforts to enhance battery efficiency. To foster a global sustainable transition in LIB manufacturing and reduce reliance on non-sustainable materials, the implementation of bio-based binder solutions for electrodes in LIBs is crucial. Bio-based binders such as cellulose, lignin, alginate, gums, starch, and others can address environmental concerns and can enhance LIBs' performance. This review aims to provide an overview of the current progress in the development and application of bio-based binders for LIB electrode manufacturing, highlighting their significance toward sustainable development.

Monolayer TiSiP as a high-performance anode for Na-ion batteries

Exploring anode materials with overall excellent performance remains a great challenge for rechargeable Na-ion battery technologies. Herein, we have identified that monolayer TiSiP is just such a prospective anode candidate via first-principles calculations. It is showed to be dynamically, thermally, mechanically, and energetically stable, which provides feasibility for experimental realization. The Na diffusion on the its surface is proved to be ultrafast, with a migration energy barrier as low as 73 meV. Electronic structure confirms that the pristine system undergoes a transition from the semiconductor to metal during the whole sodiation process, which is a significant advantage to the electrode conductivity. More excitingly, monolayer TiSiP can accommodate up to double-sided five-layer adatoms, resulting in an ultrahigh theoretical capacity of 1176 mA h g−1 and a low average open-circuit voltage of 0.195 V. Moreover, the maximally sodiated electrode monolayer yields rather small in-plane lattice expansion of only 1.40%, which ensures reversible deformation and excellent cycling stability as further corroborated by structural relaxation and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Overall, all of these results point to the potential that monolayer TiSiP can serve as a promising anode candidate for application in high-performance low-cost Na-ion batteries.

Mechanism of High-Rate Cycling Stability of Anthraquinone Cathode for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are an appealing rechargeable battery technology for next-generation energy storage devices, known for their low cost and high safety. Among the promising cathode materials used for aqueous ZIBs, anthraquinone (AQ) stands out due to its high theoretical specific capacity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. In this study, we investigate the cyclic stability of AQ in aqueous ZIBs. We demonstrate that AQ exhibits a good capacity retention at a high current density even after 1000 charge–discharge cycles, while more obvious capacity fading is observed at a low current density. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the mechanism of the rapid capacity fading under a low current density is due to the significant structural deformation of AQ crystal during Zn insertion into the AQ bulk. Furthermore, the energy barrier of Zn ions that diffuse into the AQ bulk is much higher than the diffuse on the AQ surface, leading to an irreversible Zn insertion. However, under a high current density, Zn ions prefer to adsorb and diffuse on the AQ surface without bulk insertion and structural deformation, rending a higher cycling stability. These insights into the factors influencing the cycling stability of AQ-based electrodes offer a guidance to improve their performance for practical applications.

The influence of different air electrode structures to discharge characteristics in rechargeable Zn-air battery

The rechargeable metal-air battery technology is a well-interested smart method for eco-friendly and sustainable energy storage. Both of the two order of magnitude lower global market price per tonne of Zn compared to lithium and the multiple theoretical and practical specific energy density of rechargeable ZAB compared to the worldwide Li-ion designs contributes the developing continuously of rechargeable Zn-air battery. The air electrode as a cathode has a vital role in increasing the discharge-charge performance in ZABs, therefore different layers-order air electrodes were assembledwith the utilization of Ni-foam, graphite coating and carbon nanoparticles. The tri-layers cathode showed the highest voltage and performance values compared to the mono- (Ni-foam) and bi- (Ni-foam + graphite coating) layers architectures. The effect of electrolyte inorganic additives (e.g., 2 n/n% ZnCl2 and 0,05 wt% MnO2) was experienced especially at the no-load period.

Interfacial Engineering of CoN/Co3 O4 Heterostructured Hollow Nanoparticles Embedded in N-Doped Carbon Nanowires as a Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Liquid and Flexible all-Solid-State Zn-Air Batteries.

The design of economical, efficient, and robust bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts is greatly imperative for the large-scale commercialization of rechargeable Zn-air battery (ZAB) technology. Herein, the neoteric design of an advanced bifunctional electrocatalyst composed of CoN/Co3 O4 heterojunction hollow nanoparticles in situ encapsulated in porous N-doped carbon nanowires (denoted as CoN/Co3 O4 HNPs@NCNWs hereafter) is reported. The simultaneous implementation of interfacial engineering, nanoscale hollowing design, and carbon-support hybridization renders the synthesized CoN/Co3 O4 HNPs@NCNWs with modified electronic structure, improved electric conductivity, enriched active sites, and shortened electron/reactant transport pathways. Density functional theory computations further demonstrate that the construction of a CoN/Co3 O4 heterojunction can optimize the reaction pathways and reduce the overall reaction barriers. Thanks to the composition and architectural superiorities, the CoN/Co3 O4 HNPs@NCNWs exhibit distinguished oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction performance with a low reversible overpotential of 0.725V and outstanding stability in KOH medium. More encouragingly, the homemade rechargeable liquid and flexible all-solid-state ZABs utilizing CoN/Co3 O4 HNPs@NCNWs as the air-cathode deliver higher peak power densities, larger specific capacities, and robust cycling stability, exceeding the commercial Pt/C + RuO2 benchmark counterparts. The concept of heterostructure-induced electronic modification herein may shed light on the rational design of advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable energy applications.

Electrolyte Modulation Strategies for High Performance Zinc Batteries

AbstractWith high safety and low‐cost features, aqueous zinc batteries have become the promising rechargeable battery technology for future. Recent research works reached a deep understanding on the underlying electrolyte chemistry in Zn batteries. This review aims to put forward the challenges that the aqueous electrolyte is facing, which include low voltage window, multifarious irreversible reactions, and low energy density. The innovative electrolyte modulation strategies, such as hybrid/concentrated solution, gel polymer electrolyte (hydrogel electrolyte), eutectic mixture, electrolyte additives, towards better zinc batteries performance are summarized. The conclusion and outlook are introduced to provide guidance for smart design of electrolyte for advanced Zn batteries.

Nitrogen as An Anionic Center/Dopant for Next‐Generation High‐Performance Lithium/Sodium‐Ion Battery Electrodes: Key Scientific Issues, Challenges and Perspectives

AbstractThe rapid progress of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have extensively promoted the rechargeable battery technology in the fields of electric vehicles and grid scale energy storage systems. With recent highly effective nitrogen doping strategy in terms of improving the overall electrochemical performance in various sorts of battery systems, the bulk N doping/substitution lays on the core innovations toward structural manipulation toward higher ionic conductivity, elevated reversible working plateau, etc. However, the key scientific and practical issues such as the phase formation process, phase transition kinetics, valence change and anionic/cationic physical/chemical behaviors still leave open questions in the direction of their real applications in the next‐generation battery technology. In light of this, a timely and in‐depth perspective is provided on the development of the bulk N doping/substitution strategy of these high‐performance electrodes of LIBs/SIBs adapting nitrogen as anionic center/dopant. Both the variations of phase and structural constitutions, alkali ion storage mechanism, electrochemical change, and the alkali ion kinetics, which are the key scientific parts for the future explorations of these novel and promising electrodes are highlighted. The most urgent and critical commercial obstacles or challenges towards cost‐efficiency synthetic approach without excessive environmental pollutions are also outlined. With the participation of nitrogen in bulk crystals , the overall specific energy density of next‐generation alkali ion batteries will be reasonably promoted and accelerated in the near future.

High stability of solid electrolyte interphase in lithium metal batteries enabled by direct fluorination on metal iron powder

Multiple studies attempted mixing Li with microparticle metal powders or using it to impregnate a porous media to utilize for thermal batteries. The infusion of Li into porous structures or powders is challenging as most materials used in battery fabrication are lithiophobic to molten Li. Optimizing and improving the wettability of molten Li is one approach to address this. Herein, we propose an efficient and facile direct fluorination method for achieving an ultra-lithiophilic fluoride layer on the surface of a Fe powder. Fluorination of Fe powders resulted in a significant increase in the wettability of molten Li by growing a Fe-F layer on the surface of the Fe powder. This layer was lithiophilic and showed good wettability. An anode prepared using fluorinated Fe-Li metal showed no evidence of short circuits or dendrite formation after a cycle test at 0.2 mA cm−2. Both a pure Li anode and pristine Fe powder showed unstable charge–discharge characteristics when used as an anode in cycle tests. This proposed method will further develop rechargeable lithium-metal battery technology.

In situ induced growth strategy of Co2P nanocrystals encapsulated into stable 3D carbon network as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for Zn-air battery

Rational design of inexpensive and robust carbon-based bifunctional catalysts is of considerable interest for practical application of rechargeable Zn-air battery (ZAB) technology. Herein, a facile in-situ induced growth strategy is developed to construct Co2P nanocrystals encapsulated into a stable 3D carbon nanotube-modified graphene network (Co2P@NPCNG). Specifically, cobalt tetranitrophthalocyanine (CoPc(NO2)4) is employed not only as the coupling agent to form and complex Co2P nanocrystals with graphene, but also as the inducer to catalyze the graphitization of melamine to grow the uniform Co2P nanocrystal-encapsulated CNTs on graphene in situ. Encouragingly, the as-synthesized Co2P@NPCNG exhibits favorable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity, fast reaction kinetics and excellent stability. Impressively, both liquid ZAB and all-solid-state ZABs used Co2P@NPCNG as air-cathode catalysts display considerable open-circuit voltage, charge-discharge property and long lifetime. Significantly, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the superior properties of Co2P@NPCNG originate to the synergetic contributions between the stable configuration of 3D conductive carbon network and high metallic density of Co2P. This work may provide feasible and facile avenues to strategically construct high-efficient 3D carbon-based bifunctional electrocatalysts for portable and even wearable devices.

Layered cathode-Na0.67Li0.15Ni0.18Mg0.02Mn0.8O2 with P2/O3 hybrid phase for high-performance Na-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are regarded as one of the most promising low-cost rechargeable battery technologies because of their abundant reserves and chemical resemblance to lithium. The cathodes with single P-type or O-type structures cannot fully exploit the higher electrochemical performance than the biphasic P/O structures. Therefore, biphasic P-type/O-type structures have attracted more and more attention. Herein, we design a layered cathode-Na0.67Li0.15Ni0.18Mg0.02Mn0.8O2 combined with the P2 and O3 composite phase, which has exceptional long-term stability and tremendous potential. Considering the synergistic effect of the P2 and O3 phases, the complex phase transition in charge and discharge can be effectively inhibited. The layered composite delivers a high reversible capacity of more than 160 mA h/g, with a capacity retention of more than 70 % after 100 cycles at 0.1 C. This research provides a new idea for the development of promising cathodes for SIBs.

Cathode Choices for Rechargeable Aluminium Batteries: The Past Decade and Future

Rechargeable aluminium batteries are a promising alternative battery technology compared to lithium-ion batteries, because of the high theoretical capacity, low cost and high safety of aluminium. The past decade has witnessed the rapid development of rechargeable aluminium battery technology with the focus on exploring high performance cathode materials and investigating their charge storage mechanisms. However, the challenges in the cathode research including inadequate capacity, sluggish reaction kinetics and inferior cycling stability still remain. Various strategies have been attempted to address these challenges to realize the advantages of rechargeable aluminium batteries. The present review aims to collect the comprehensive body of research performed in the literature hitherto to develop interaction/conversion/coordination type cathodes for rechargeable aluminium batteries. Future research directions and prospects in rechargeable aluminium battery field are also proposed.

Rechargeable batteries: Technological advancement, challenges, current and emerging applications

Historically, technological advancements in rechargeable batteries have been accomplished through discoveries followed by development cycles and eventually through commercialisation. These scientific improvements have mainly been combination of unanticipated discoveries and experimental trial and error activities. However, with the increased complexity of rechargeable battery systems and diversification in ever-demanding new applications requires a strategical approaches to commercialise newly developed battery chemistries. This can only be achieved by fast-tracking the transfer of key finding from scientific laboratories to industrial collaborators in order to design commercially feasible devices. Despite the dominance of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) commercially in current rechargeable battery market which ranges from small scale applications such as portable electronic devices to large scale applications including transportation to grid scale electrical energy storage. Scientific community is endeavouring to consolidate the global rechargeable battery portfolio with the alternative rechargeable battery systems based on cost-effective, safe, and environmentally friendly battery chemistries. This brief prospective will provide an update on the historical developments, current technological scenario and future expectations, current and potential applications, and challenges faced by current and future rechargeable battery technology.

Recent advancement in rechargeable battery technologies

AbstractThe ongoing energy issues worldwide have led to the continuous growth of the electrochemical energy storage system in recent years, and the battery is a vital part of it. The battery market, mainly rechargeable batteries, is expanding rapidly to cater to the demands of the changing society, along with the utilization of batteries in electric vehicles, the renewable energy sector, and the industrial sector. From the matured technology like the lead–acid battery to the most advanced Li‐ion (Li‐ion) battery, rechargeable battery technology has developed significantly. In comparison to the conventional lead–acid battery, other rechargeable battery technologies such as Li‐ion, nickel–metal hydride (NiMH), and nickel–cadmium (Ni–Cd) batteries are considered as more promising electrochemical energy storage systems. The Li‐ion battery, which has been on the market since 1991, is the most popular rechargeable battery due to its high energy density and good durability. With the growing market demand of battery with superior electrochemical performance in terms of specific energy, cyclability, stability, and better safety, next generation Li‐ion batteries are being widely explored in the recent time. This review discusses various rechargeable batteries which are in trend and the issues and challenges associated with it. The advancements that have taken place primarily in the electrode (both cathode and anode) materials, along with electrolytes, for improving the battery performance from the year 2000 onwards are discussed. Moreover, discussion on next‐generation batteries is also covered in this review.This article is categorized under: Emerging Technologies > Energy Storage

Latticed-Confined Conversion Chemistry of Battery Electrode.

The electrochemical conversion reaction, usually featured by multiple redox processes and high specific capacity, holds great promise in developing high-energy rechargeable battery technologies. However, the complete structural change accompanied by spontaneous atomic migration and volume variation during the charge/discharge cycle leads to electrode disintegration and performance degradation, therefore severely restricting the application of conventional conversion-type electrodes. Herein, latticed-confined conversion chemistry is proposed, where the "intercalation-like" redox behavior is realized on the electrode with a "conversion-like" high capacity. By delicately formulating the high-entropy compounds, the pristine crystal structure can be preserved by the inert lattice framework, thus enabling an ultra-high initial Coulombic efficiency of 92.5% and a long cycling lifespan over a thousand cycles after the quasistatic charge-discharge cycle. This lattice-confined conversion chemistry unfolds a ubiquitous insight into the localized redox reaction and sheds light on developing high-performance electrodes toward next-generation high-energy rechargeable batteries.

Highly Reversible Zn Metal Anode Enabled by Sustainable Hydroxyl Chemistry

Enhancing Zn anode reversibility with sustainable chemistries is urgent for unlocking rechargeable Zn metal battery technology to complement Li-ion batteries and meet the growing demand for sustainable energy storage. However, conventional practices in electrolyte design which address anode irreversibility through altering the Zn2+ solvation shell often rely on costly concentrated chemicals1-2.In this work, we demonstrate a sustainable and cost-effective electrolyte design strategy by using methanol as a solvent exemplar. The designed electrolyte exhibits unprecedented Zn reversibility combined with high depth of discharge (Coulombic efficiency (CE) >99.5% with 50% Zn utilization and a dendrite-free behavior >1800h) at 25°C due to the determinant interphasial chemistries enabled by the hydroxyl group. Moreover, the Zn anode also shows a high CE >99.5% with 20% Zn utilization at -40°C when supported by a desirable electrolyte bulk transport property. Excellent performance is demonstrated in the Zn || metal-free organic cathode full cells in a wide temperature range. The microscopic characterization and modeling identify the mechanism of unique interphase chemistry and its functionalities as the key factors responsible for dictating reversible Zn chemistry.Reference E. Blanc, D. Kundu, L. F. Nazar, Joule 2020, 4, 771–799.Ma, M. A. Schroeder, O. Borodin, T. P. Pollard, M. S. Ding, C. Wang, K. Xu, Nature Energy 2020, 5, 743-749.

Surface Treatments of Metal Hydride Anode Material for Next-Generation Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery

The development of the emergency call system (eCall system) was promoted by increasingly harsh and strict policies in many countries to enhance safety of drivers and passengers. A reliable battery technology with advantages of wide operating temperature range, long shelf life, ease of maintenance, and safety is essential to power and implement the eCall system. Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery and lithium-ion battery (LIB) are two of the most mature rechargeable battery technologies and candidates for eCall system. Compared to LIB, NiMH battery is a safer choice due to the intrinsic non-flammability of aqueous electrolyte. Moreover, NiMH battery has better low temperature performance than LIB because ions are more mobile in aqueous electrolytes than in organic electrolytes. Hence, NiMH battery is a promising alternative for safety-sensitive application. A limitation of today’s NiMH technology is that anode materials capable of discharging at low temperature (-40°C) have short cycle and calendar life. This is due to the fracture and dissolution of active materials during cycling. In this work being presented, we have coated the metal hydride anode material with lanthanum trifluoride (LaF3), which is insoluble in alkaline electrolyte and inert at anode operating potential window, to encapsulate the particle and improve capacity retention. The coated particle achieved stable cycling over 200 cycles at room temperature. Moreover, the LaF3 coating is electrically conductive and does not affect the kinetics. The coated particle still achieved more than 150 mAh/g at extremely low operating temperature (-40°C). Thorough material characterization has been carried out to investigate the structure of the coating and correlate to the performance enhancement.

(Digital Presentation) A Design of Nickel/Sulfur Energy-Storage Materials for Electrochemical Lithium-Sulfur Cells

Introduction As one of the next-generation rechargeable battery technologies beyond the lithium-ion chemistry, the lithium-sulfur chemistry enables the low-cost sulfur cathode to generate a high theoretical capacity of 1,675 mAh g-1 (10 times higher capacity than those of lithium-ion battery cathode). It further exhibits a high theoretical energy density of 2,600 Wh kg-1 in lithium-sulfur batteries (2–3 times higher energy density than lithium-ion batteries). However, as reported in recent publications, the development is far from adequate with respect to the high-loading sulfur cathode with high active-material content in building advanced lithium-sulfur batteries with a high energy density. The material challenges result from the use of an insulating sulfur as the active material, which would generate lithium polysulfides that can easily diffuse out from the cathode. The high cathode resistance and fast loss of the active material lead to the poor electrochemical utilization and efficiency of lithium-sulfur battery cathodes. These negative impacts subsequent derive the additional electrochemical challenges. A high amount of conductive and porous substrates is added in the cathode to replace the active material, which results in the limited amount of sulfur in the cathode and further blocks the improvement of designing high-energy-density sulfur cathodes.To address the above-mentioned issues, the research progresses of high-performance sulfur cathodes aim to design functional host for sulfur cathodes with the use of carbon for high conductivity, polymers for high ionic transfer, porous materials for physical polysulfide retention, polar materials for chemical polysulfide adsorption, catalysts for high reaction kinetics, etc. However, metallic materials that naturally have high conductivity, strong polysulfide adsorption capability, and catalytic conversion ability, are rarely reported. This is because metals have the highest density as compared to the aforementioned host materials, which commonly causes an insufficient amount of active material in the cathode and therefore inhibits the design of metal-sulfur nanocomposite in sulfur cathodes.To explore the metal/sulfur nanocomposite as a new research trend in sulfur cathodes, we propose a design for a nickel/sulfur nanocomposite as a novel energy-storage material by the electroless nickel plating method, and discuss its applications in lithium–sulfur battery cathodes. The nickel/sulfur energy-storage material possesses metallic nickel on the surface of the insulating sulfur particles as a result of the reduction of nickel ions during autocatalytic plating. By controlling the synthesis and fabrications conditions, the nickel/sulfur energy-storage material attains adjustable high sulfur contents of 60–95 wt% and adjustable high sulfur loadings of 2–10 mg cm−2 in the resulting cathode. The high-loading cathode with the nickel/sulfur energy-storage material demonstrates high electrochemical utilization and stability, which attains a high areal capacity of 8.2 mA∙h cm−2, an energy density of 17.3 mW∙h cm−2, and a stable cyclability for 100 cycles. Results and Discussion Here, in our presentation, we discuss our novel method for the fabrication of nickel/sulfur energy-storage material as an advanced composite cathode material for exploring battery electrochemistry and battery engineering. We adopt a modified electroless-plating method to synthesize nickel/sulfur energy-storage materials characterized by adjustable high sulfur contents and promising cathode performance. The plated nickel coating provides the nickel/sulfur energy-storage materials with metallic conductivity and polysulfide adsorption ability, which addresses the two major issues of sulfur cathodes.[1,2] Therefore, the nickel/sulfur energy-storage material attains high sulfur contents in the cathode and exhibits a high charge-storage capacity of 1,362 mA∙h g−1 and an excellent cyclability for 100 cycles. Moreover, the nickel/sulfur energy-storage material enables high-loading sulfur cathodes with a sulfur loading of 10 mg cm−2, a high areal capacity of 8.2 mA∙h cm−2, and an energy density of 17.3 mW∙h cm−2. Conclusion In summary, the summary of our nickel/sulfur energy-storage materials presented in this presentation would demonstrate a light-weight metallic nickel coating technique for fast charge transfer and strong polysulfide retention in the sulfur nanocomposites composite sulfur cathode. Moreover, our systematic analysis of the nickel/sulfur energy-storage materials exhibits their achievements in attaining both high electrochemical designs of high sulfur content and loading as well as possessing high energy density and electrochemical stability. References C.-S. Cheng, S.-H. Chung, Chem. Eng. J. 2022, 429, 132257.C.-S. Cheng, S.-H. Chung, Batter. Supercaps 2022, 5, e202100323.

Quantification of Hydrogen Evolution on a Zinc Rotating Disk Electrode in Traditional Alkaline Electrolytes and Acetate-Based Water-in-Salt “Wise” Electrolytes

Rechargeable batteries as energy storage devices for the electric grid are advantageous to bridge the intermittency in the daily energy demand and production by renewable energy sources such as solar microgrids. Another important consideration to satiate this energy landscape is the need for inexpensive, safe, and non-toxic rechargeable battery technology and chemistry. Zinc aqueous (alkaline) batteries are one of the prime candidates that satisfies the aforementioned criterion and has thus warranted a lot of scientific and technological research for commercial applicability. There has been considerable work conducted by the researchers in this field to bolster the cycle life and active material utilization of zinc in alkaline systems. However, zinc is thermodynamically susceptible to hydrogen gas evolution in alkaline solutions as witnessed by its Pourbaix diagram. On a device level, this affects the columbic efficiency due to the deleterious side reaction, which in turn negatively impacts the energy density of the battery. Water-in-salt electrolytes (WiSE) are a recently developed class of electrolytes that directly address this shortcoming of dilute electrolytes due to the modified solvation structure of water which lowers the activity of free water molecules in solution.In this work, we show a type of non-toxic and cheap acetate-based WiSE that has lower hydrogen gassing rates when compared to traditional alkaline potassium hydroxide-based electrolytes. Specifically, we quantify hydrogen gas evolution at the zinc electrode-electrolyte interface using the rotating disk electrode technique at different overpotentials to show the remarked improvement in gassing observed. At overpotentials of 100, 300 and 500 mV, 27 m (molal) potassium acetate is observed to have gassing rates of up to 16 times less than that of 25 weight percent potassium hydroxide. Using the Koutecky-Levich equation, mass-transfer and kinetic parameters for the hydrogen evolution reaction were also determined. The results establish the applicability of this class of WiSE in reducing gassing on zinc and thus, improving the overall efficiency of zinc-based aqueous batteries.

(Digital Presentation) Advanced Intercalation Electrode Materials for Calcium Rechargeable Batteries

The growing demand for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems calls for developing next-generation batteries that combine high energy, high power and low cost. Among many post lithium-ion batteries, calcium rechargeable batteries utilizing divalent Ca2+ ion charge carriers are expected to offer clear benefits in affordability of batteries along with the potentially high energy density, due to the abundance of calcium in earth crust (46600 ppm versus 20 ppm for lithium) and the low redox potential of Ca/Ca2+ (-2.9 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode). Recent efforts on the development of negative electrodes, such as elemental calcium metal and natural graphite, has brought the rechargeable calcium chemistries a step closer to a practically feasible battery system. However, the lack of suitable cathode is the Achille’s heal of the calcium rechargeable battery technology.[1] The relatively large ionic radius and divalent nature of Ca ions make the intercalation kinetics generally sluggish in intercalation hosts. Moreover, a large Ca2+ intercalation is supposed to cause extended volume changes of the host, triggering a premature degradation of the electrode structure. In this talk, I would like to present our recent findings in graphite anode and polyanionic cathode materials as intercalation electrodes in high performance non-aqueous calcium rechargeable batteries. We demonstrated that a large amount of Ca ions can be reversibly (de)intercalation in graphite for Ca ion batteries by identifying a proper electrolyte to promote the solvated-ion co-intercalation reactions.[2] The solvated-Ca-ion co-intercalation chemistry is comprehensively investigated by combining first principle calculations and synchrotron in-situ X-ray diffraction. For cathodes, we find that the open-framework sodium vanadium fluorophosphate can function as a stable and fast-kinetic Ca2+ intercalation host with an extremely low capacity degradation rate of 0.02% per cycle over 500 cycles.[3] This value records the best stability reported for Ca ion battery cathodes so far. Through this talk, it is believed that the new findings in discovering novel materials or intercalation chemistries will be of great interest of the community working on multivalent ion batteries and other energy storage technologies.Reference:[1] C Chen, F Shi, ZL Xu, Advanced electrode materials for nonaqueous calcium rechargeable batteries, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021, 9, 11908-11930[2] Z.L. Xu, J. Park, J. Wang, H. Moon, G. Yoon, J. Lim, Y.J. Ko, S.P. Cho, S.Y. Lee and K. Kang, A new high-voltage calcium intercalation host for ultra-stable and high-power calcium rechargeable batteries, Nat. Commun. 2021, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23703-x.[3] J. Park,† Z.L. Xu,† G. Yoon,† S.K. Park, J. Wang, H. Hyun, H. Park, J. Lim, Y.J. Ko and K. Kang, Stable and High power calcium ion batteries enabled by calcium intercalation in graphite, Adv. Mater. 2020, 32.4: 1904411.

Simulating key properties of lithium-ion batteries with a fault-tolerant quantum computer

There is a pressing need to develop new rechargeable battery technologies that can offer higher energy storage, faster charging, and lower costs. Despite the success of existing methods for the simulation of battery materials, they can sometimes fall short of delivering accurate and reliable results. Quantum computing has been discussed as an avenue to overcome these issues, but only limited work has been done to outline how they may impact battery simulations. In this work, we provide a detailed answer to the following question: how can a quantum computer be used to simulate key properties of a lithium-ion battery? Based on recently-introduced first-quantization techniques, we lay out an end-to-end quantum algorithm for calculating equilibrium cell voltages, ionic mobility, and thermal stability. These can be obtained from ground-state energies of materials, which is the core calculation executed by the quantum computer using qubitization-based quantum phase estimation. The algorithm includes explicit methods for preparing approximate ground states of periodic materials in first quantization. We bring these insights together to perform the first estimation of the resources required to implement a quantum algorithm for simulating a realistic cathode material, dilithium iron silicate.