Batteries with higher energy density are needed to meet the ever-increasing demands of many emerging technologies, from portable electronics to electrical vehicles. The energy densities of the existing batteries are limited primarily by the low energy density of electrode materials used. To dramatically enhance the energy density of batteries, considerable efforts have been devoted to the development of not only new air electrodes for efficient utilization of oxygen from air in metal-air batteries but also new high capacity anode materials in Li-ion batteries. Among many metals that may be used as the anode (e.g., Ca, Al, Fe, Cd, Li and Zn) in a metal-air battery, Zn metal has received much attention due to its low cost, abundance, and environmental benignity.  To date, however, the performance of Zn-air battery is limited largely by the poor performance of the air electrode because the rate of ORR is much slower than that of zinc oxidation.  On the other hand, anode materials (e.g. Si and Ge) for Li-ion batteries can provide higher energy density than conventional graphite (theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g), however, they are suffering from significant volume changes during Li insertion/extraction cycle, leading to cracking of the electrode materials and the consequent loss of electrical contacts between particles, resulting in a rapid capacity decay. One strategy to overcome these problems is to use nanostructured materials, like zero-dimensional (0D) nanoparticles, 1D nanowires and nanotubes, and 2D nanosheets and nanoflakes, which can play an important role in improving the performance of Zn-Air and Li-ion batteries.

Sustainable energy storage materials for Li-ion and Zn-air batteries

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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