High‐Capacity NiO–(Mesocarbon Microbeads) Conversion Anode for Lithium‐Ion Battery

Abstract

A conversion‐type, NiO–MCMB (mesocarbon microbeads) composite anode prepared by high‐energy ball milling is here characterized and tested in lithium half and full cells. An optimized and submicrometric morphology allows the NiO–MCMB electrode to achieve high cell performance and excellent rate capability, that is, delivering specific capacities of 515 and 450 mAh g−1 when cycled at current densities as high as 545 and 1090 mA g−1, respectively. The NiO–MCMB composite anode is studied in a full lithium‐ion battery using a high‐voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode that is considered a suitable cathode in combination with conversion‐type electrodes. The battery delivers a specific capacity of 90 mAh g−1 with high coulombic efficiency and an average working voltage of 4.1 V. The electrochemical results suggest the viability of the alternative cell configuration here adopted for the development of low‐cost, high‐energy‐density lithium‐ion batteries.

A New CuO‐Fe2O3‐Mesocarbon Microbeads Conversion Anode in a High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Battery with a Li1.35Ni0.48Fe0.1Mn1.72O4 Spinel Cathode

“…[38,39,49] The ball milling also induces ap rogressive decreasei nt he particle size of the sample, with concomitantf ormation of micrometric aggregates that consist of nanometric oxide particles embeddedw ithin the carbon matrix. Previous studies of composite materials based on conversion-type compounds and carbon prepared by high-energy mechanical millingr evealed as ignificant decrease of the crystallinity degree as the treatment time was increased.…”

“…Recently,t he structural variation issue of conversion anodes has been mitigated by adopting nanostructured composite morphologies based on metal oxide active materials and buffer matrices, such as carbon and metals,t hat contain the volumec hanges and also ensure the electron transport within the electrode. [38,39] Despite some progress ando ptimizations, the practical exploitation of high-capacity conversiona nodesi nf ull lithiumion cell configurations still suffers from severali ssues. [37] Accordingly,h igh-energym echanicalm illing of conversion-type oxides with carbon additivesh as been suggested as alow-cost andversatile approachfor preparing composite anodes.…”

Transition metal oxide-carbon composites as conversion anodes for sodium-ion battery

“…The CuO-MCMB, Fe 2 O 3 -MCMB and NiO-MCMB composites were prepared by high energy ball milling treatment of a 1:1 weight ratio mixture of oxide and meso-carbon micro-beads (MCMB) powders, as previously reported [20][21][22]. Micrometric CuO (Sigma-Aldrich, 99%), Fe 2 O 3 (Sigma-Aldrich, 99.9 %), NiO (Sigma-Aldrich, 99.99%) and MCMB (Osakagas) powders were used as starting materials.…”

“…Following the results suggested by our lithium experience [20][21][22], we use composite materials optimized in terms of morphology and particle size in order to investigate the suitability of the conversion reaction chemistry for sodium battery application. The metal oxides are trapped in a mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) matrix, selected due to its suitable properties such as low specific surface area, which allows high packing and tap density and limits possible undesired side reactions.…”

Synthesis of 3D Flower‐like Nanocomposites of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanosheets Embedded with Hollow Cobalt(II,III) Oxide Nanospheres for Lithium Storage

“…Thus, seeking and developing suitable alternatives to graphite have become the focus of LIB research . Recently, mesoporous carbon materials, alloying materials, and transition‐metal oxides have been developed to increase the specific capacity of anode materials. Among these materials, the high theoretical capacity, nature abundance, low cost, and low toxicity of transition‐metal oxides such as cobalt oxides have made them attractive for use in lithium storage .…”