Title: Nanostructured Conductive Polymer Gels as a General Framework Material To Improve Electrochemical Performance of Cathode Materials in Li-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Controlling architecture of electrode composites is of particular importance to optimize both electronic and ionic conduction within the entire electrode and improve the dispersion of active particles, thus achieving the best energy delivery from a battery. Electrodes based on conventional binder systems that consist of carbon additives and nonconductive binder polymers suffer from aggregation of particles and poor physical connections, leading to decreased effective electronic and ionic conductivities. Here we developed a three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured hybrid inorganic-gel framework electrode by in situ polymerization of conductive polymer gel onto commercial lithium iron phosphate particles. This framework electrode exhibits greatly improved rate and cyclic performance because the highly conductive and hierarchically porous network of the hybrid gel framework promotes both electronic and ionic transport. In addition, both inorganic and organic components are uniformly distributed within the electrode because the polymer coating prevents active particles from aggregation, enabling full access to each particle. The robust framework further provides mechanical strength to support active electrode materials and improves the long-term electrochemical stability. Finally, the multifunctional conductive gel framework can be generalized for other high-capacity inorganic electrode materials to enable high-performance lithium ion batteries.

Authors:

Shi, Ye ^[1]; Zhou, Xingyi ^[1]; Zhang, Jun ^[1]; Bruck, Andrea M. ^[2]; Bond, Andrew C. ^[1]; Marschilok, Amy C. ^[3]; Takeuchi, Kenneth J. ^[3]; Takeuchi, Esther S.  ^[4];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Takeuchi, Esther S."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8518-1047"

Yu, Guihua  ^[1]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Yu, Guihua"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-3253-0749"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Program, and Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
2. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
3. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry, and Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering
4. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry, and Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering; Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Energy Sciences Directorate

Publication Date:

Mon Feb 13 00:00:00 EST 2017

Research Org.:

Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Mesoscale Transport Properties (m2M)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI Identifier:

1388613

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0012673

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Nano Letters

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 17; Journal Issue: 3; Related Information: m2M partners with Stony Brook University (lead); Brookhaven National Laboratory; Columbia University; Georgia Institute of Technology; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; University of California, Berkeley; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Journal ID: ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:

American Chemical Society

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 25 ENERGY STORAGE; 42 ENGINEERING; energy storage (including batteries and capacitors); charge transport; mesostructured materials; lithium ion battery; conductive polymer; gel framework; lithium iron phosphate; energy storage; electrochemistry