Nanoporous materials for energy applications

Date
2015
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University of Delaware
Abstract
Batteries have become ubiquitous in modern society by powering small, consumer electronic devices such as flashlights, cell phones, and laptops. Increasingly, batteries are also being examined as a method to improve energy efficiency (and reduce greenhouse gas emissions) for vehicles and power transmission/distribution applications. For lithium-ion based batteries to meet the demands of these new applications, new electrode materials and morphologies are the key to access high energy and/or power density. In this work, the research efforts include two major thrusts, concentrating on the synthesis and understanding of novel porous materials as potential electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The nano-sized walls and multidimensional pore structures allow fast solid state and electrolytic transport, while micron-sized particle ensure better interparticulate contact. The first thrust of research focused on the development of new synthetic approaches for porous material fabrication. A novel ionothermal synthetic method has been developed using deep-eutectic solvents, such as choline chloride and N,Ndimethylurea, to form iron, manganese and cobalt phosphates with a zeotype framework. Through this advanced method the successful synthesis of 4 previously undiscovered metal phosphate zeotypes was achieved. A careful control of water content during the ionothermal synthesis elucidated the multistep decomposition of our framework template and its impacts in the resulting zeotype structures. Upon conclusion of the ionothermal work, the focus shifted to the methodology development for mesoporous metal sulfides. An “oxide-to-sulfide” synthetic strategy was developed for the first time, resulting in the first synthesis of ordered porous iron, cobalt and nickel sulfides. More importantly, this is a general synthetic method, relying primarily on volumetric calculations per metal atom, which could be further extend to other metal-containing compounds, such as metal chalcogenides, phosphides, and nitrides. The second thrust was on the fundamental understanding of structural and electrochemical properties of nanocast mesoporous metal oxides. A thorough examination of three-dimensional porous TiO2 particles (solvothermal grown and micron in particle size) has been performed in order to achieve a better understanding of structure-property relationship. While ex-situ SEM analysis didn’t show any notable change after the 1st discharge, significant structural alterations have occurred during the 2nd discharge. This formation coincides with a significant drop in performance, and it appears through ex-situ PXRD that the phase conversion of anatase to Li-titanate, the essential mechanism for energy storage in this material, is no longer occurring. A detailed structure-property investigation of mesoporous β-MnO2 was also performed. Previously, it has been reported that the material experiences a 7% volume change during lithium intercalation/de-intercalation while still retaining its mesoscopic order. The large volume change and new assertions about mesoscale β-MnO2 from atomistic models makes determining additional structure-property insight of great importance. The analysis, through ex-situ PXRD measurements and dQ/dV analysis of the battery cycles indicate that a complex structural rearrangement occurs during cycling. A rearrangement irreversibly occurred in the initial cycles of mesoporous β- MnO2, and a complex structural dynamics has been observed. The knowledge generated from this work may help the battery community better understand the irreversible structural evolution occurring in commercialized lithium manganese oxide electrode materials.
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