High-Performance Ga₂O₃ Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

There is a great deal of interest in developing battery systems that can exhibit self-healing behavior, thus enhancing cyclability and stability. Given that gallium (Ga) is a metal that melts near room temperature, we wanted to test if it could be employed as a self-healing anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, Ga nanoparticles (NPs), when directly applied, tended to aggregate upon charge/discharge cycling. To address this issue, we employed carbon-coated GaO NPs as an alternative. By controlling the pH of the precursor solution, highly dispersed and ultrafine GaO NPs, embedded in carbon shells, could be synthesized through a hydrothermal carbonization method. The particle size of the GaO NPs was 2.6 nm, with an extremely narrow size distribution, as determined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements. A lithium-ion battery anode based on this material exhibited stable charging and discharging, with a capacity of 721 mAh/g after 200 cycles. The high cyclability is due to not only the protective effects of the carbon shell but also the formation of Ga during the lithiation process, as indicated by operando X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy.

Uniform gallium oxyhydroxide nanorod anodes with superior lithium-ion storage

“…This reaction mechanism including rst intercalation, conversion reaction and alloy process are similar to previous reports in Ga 2 O 3 , Ga 2 S 3 , CoGa 2 S 4 and NiGa 2 O 4 , etc. 14,19,21,36 Fig . 3b shows the galvanotactic discharge-charge (GDC) prole for the rst three cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g À1 , in which the GaOOH electrode shows a discharging capacity of 1343 mA h g À1 and charging capacity of 602 mA h g À1 upon the initial cycle, with coulombic efficiency of 45%.…”

“…11 Sn, Sb, Ge, Si and Ga metal candidates, which can alloy with Li, seem to be the optimal choice. Ga exhibits a unique liquid nature at room temperature with reported self-healing ability, [12][13][14][15] which can repair electrode cracks by surface tension upon lithiation reactions. 16 Moreover, the alloy reactions between Li and Ga undergo the following reversible process: Ga 4 Li 2 Ga 7 4 LiGa 4 Li 2 Ga, 17 thus delivering a theoretical capacity of $768 mA h g À1 from Li 2 Ga, about twice as much as commercial graphite anode.…”

Gallium-based anodes for alkali metal ion batteries

“…By contrast with the Ga bulk, Ga nanoparticles exhibited higher rate capacities (about twice of the bulk ones). Controlling the pH values of precursor solutions, Tang et al synthesized Ga 2 O 3 @C particles with different particle sizes and specific surface areas [72], conversing that the sample featured with smaller particle size and larger specific surface area had higher capacity. Building nano-architectures, such as three dimensional (3D) nanosheets, 3D network nanowires and framework-templated nanosheets/nanoparticles, is an alternative path to nanostructure design [20,33,[73][74][75][76][77][78][79].…”

“…Gallium oxide, with a wide bandgap (E g ) in the range of 4.9-5.2 eV, is a crucial semiconducting material, which has drawn great attention and investigation in the field electronic and photoelectronic [104][105][106][107]. Given the merits of gallium in the field of energy storage, researchers are particularly interested in its oxide derivative with chemical formula of Ga reported the synthesis of highly dispersed Ga 2 O 3 nanoparticles capped with carbon layer (Ga 2 O 3 @C) using a hydrothermal carbonization method and calcination treatment under an argon atmosphere [72]. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) characterization for Ga 2 -O 3 @C indicated that it belongs to a face-centered cubic structure, which was denoted as c-Ga 2 O 3 .…”

Nanostructured Oxides Containing Ga: Materials with Unique Properties for Aqueous-Based Applications

“…The methodology is depicted in Figure 2B. 34 We summarize key features associated with the use of Ga oxides in this example. The particles are prepared via a hydrothermal carbonization method that controls their size to 2.6 nm and ensures the formation of a carbon shell around each particle.…”