Development of Lithium/Sodium-Ion Battery Electrodes Based on Solvent Engineered Tin(II) Oxide Nanomaterials
Authors: Ryan Sean , Jaśkaniec Sonia , Nicolosi Valeria 
Published: September 2023

With the global economy pushing towards a greener and cleaner energy future for the world, renewable energy storage technologies must continue to develop and improve to allow for a seamless transition from the ways of the past to a carbon neutral future. To this end, renewable battery technology and in particular the capacity of the anode must be improved. Furthermore this improvement must be made across various battery technologies (Lithium/Sodium-ion) and be cost-effective to allow for its widespread implementation and use worldwide.

In this work, Tin(II) Oxide (SnO)/single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite electrodes are analysed as a possible alternative dual anode material for both lithium (LIB) and sodium-ion batteries (NIB). The LIB is limited by the current commercial anode material of graphite with a relatively low theoretical capacity of 372 mAh g-1 whilst NIBs use hard carbon with a capacity of roughly 300 mAh g-1. Alloy/de-alloy materials are envisioned to be a suitable candidate for next generation LIBs/NIBs due to their large specific capacities (875mAh g-1/ 847 mAh g-1 for SnO respectively) although major drawbacks concern the poor cycling life associated with the volume change and the associated irreversible capacity. To overcome such issues the downsizing of materials and the fabrication of composites which incorporate both lithium active and inactive material are viewed as promising solutions. Nanostructured metal oxides, forming an inactive oxide matrix are appealing candidates.

Through the implementation of a solvent engineered wet chemistry synthesis, various layered SnO microparticles are produced with several morphologies well-suited to energy storage applications. This synthesis method is facile, scalable and is favourable in comparison to hydrothermal synthesese normally used to synthesise nanomaterials. While SWCNTs are themselves not suited towards energy storage applications, their incorporation in the electrodes allows them to act as a conductive additive at a lower weight loading than other conventional carbon sources (carbon black/graphite), presenting a more effective strategy to form an effective electrical percolation network while also removing the need for polymer binders/copper current collector.

The optimised morphology of SnO produces a high capacity, high rate and stable anode for LIB technology. An initial coloumbic efficiency (ICE) in excess of 80% is recorded and a stable cycling capacity of 815 mAh g-1 at 0.5C after 300 cycles is also achieved, demonstrating its long term stability. A maximum capacity of 980 mAh g-1 is recorded at 0.1C, whilst high rate capacities of 775, 671 and 364 mAh g-1 are recorded at 1,2 and 5C respectively. Furthermore a full-cell is composed with a NMC cathode to demonstrate a potential full-cell real world device. As an NIB anode, a maximum capacity of 568 mAh g-1 was recorded at 0.05C, whilst a low ICE of 50% proves an issue under further investigation. Furthermore a cycling capacity of 595 mAh g-1 is recorded after 50 cycles at 0.1C, dropping to 360 mAh g-1 at 100 cycles which is still in excess of that recorded for hard carbon in NIBs.

A high capacity, scalable and cost effective anode has been developed that is interchangeable between LIBs/NIBs and exceeds the performance of the current commercial anodes.

Reference
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