Novel method helps quantify reversibility and irreversibility of practical Li metal batteries

Phys.org  October 4, 2022 Accurate assessment of the reversibility of electrodes is crucial for battery performance evaluations. However, it is challenging to acquire the true reversibility of the Li anode in lithium-metal batteries, mainly because an excessive amount of Li is commonly used. An international team of researchers (China, USA – UC San Diego, University of Chicago) proposed an analytic approach to quantitatively evaluate the reversibility of practical lithium-metal batteries. They identified key parameters that govern the anode reversibility and subsequently established their relationship with the cycle number by considering the mass of active and inactive Li of the cycled […]

‘Wrapping’ anodes in 3D carbon nanosheets: The next big thing in li-ion battery technology

Science Daily  July 22, 2021 The anodes of lithium ion batteries in use today have multiple inadequacies. Researchers in South Korea focused on manganese selenide (MnSe) for its high electrical conductivity. To prevent the drastic volume change it undergoes, they uniformly infused the MnSe nanoparticles into a three-dimensional porous carbon nanosheet matrix. In the new anode material (MnSe ⊂ 3DCNM), the carbon nanosheet scaffold provided MnSe nanoparticles with a high number of active sites and an enhanced contact area with the electrolyte and protected them from drastic volume expansion. They synthesized a variety of MnSe ⊂ 3DCNM materials. Among these, […]

Researchers charge quest to end ‘voltage fade’

Nanowerk   July 23, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Cornell University, UC San Diego, Argonne National Laboratory, industry, China, Germany) identified nanoscale defects or “dislocations” in Lithium-rich NMC cathode materials as they charged batteries at a range of voltages going up to 4.4 volts. They demonstrated that heat treating the cathode materials eliminated most of the defects and restored the original voltage showing that voltage fade had been reversed. According to the researchers while heat treating is not scalable, the physics and materials science-based approach to characterizing and then addressing the nanoscale defects offers promise for finding new […]