Nanotechnology for Energy Storage

Abstract

Nanomaterials of metal oxides have been intensively studied as anode and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) aimed at achieving higher specific capacities and high power density. It is worth pointing out that the word "nanotechnology" has become very popular and is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are much less than 1 μm. For example, continued improvements in lithography to design computer components have resulted in line widths that are less than one micron: this work is often called "nanotechnology." Many of the exponentially improving trends in computer hardware capability have remained steady for the last 50 years. Today "nanosciences" are fairly widespread with the belief that these trends are likely to continue for at least several years; however, new aspects are now considered in the field of energy transformation. In this respect, the classic 1959 article "There's plenty of room at the bottom" by Richard P. Feynman discusses the limits of miniaturization and forecast the ability to ". . .arrange the atoms the way we want; the very atoms, all the way down!" [1]. Nano-structured materials are distinguished from conventional polycrystalline materials by the size of the structural entities that comprises them, microstructures comprising nanoscale domains in at least one dimension. The ability to control a material's structure and composition at the nano-level has demonstrated that materials and devices having properties intrinsically different from their polycrystalline counterparts can be fabricated. As tailoring of fundamental properties becomes possible at the atomic level, the prospect of developing novel materials and devices with new applications become viable.Conventional rechargeable Li batteries exhibit rather poor rate performance, even compared with old technologies such as lead-acid [2]. Achieving high rate rechargeable Li-ion batteries depends ultimately of the dimension of the active particles for both negative and positive electrodes. One of the prospective solutions for the preparation of electrodes with high power density is the choice of

Synthesis of lithium manganese oxide nanocomposites using microwave‐assisted chemical precipitation technique and their performance evaluation in lithium‐ion batteries

“…Moreover, the activation energy for the movement of Li + ions between the electrode and the electrolyte decreases with reduced particle size. 23 The diffusion intercalation time constant for lithium ions is reduced by many folds in the nano regime. 24 The use of nano-sized phases is still challenging as nanoparticles tend to agglomerate, and it is imperative to confine the size within the limit.…”