Promises and challenges of nanomaterials for lithium-based rechargeable batteries

Tremendous progress has been made in the development of lithium-based rechargeable batteries in recent decades. Discoveries of new electrode materials as well as new storage mechanisms have substantially improved battery performance. In particular, nanomaterials design has emerged as a promising solution to tackle many fundamental problems in conventional battery materials. Here we discuss in detail several key issues in batteries, such as electrode volume change, solid–electrolyte interphase formation, electron and ion transport, and electrode atom/molecule movement, and then analyse the advantages presented by nanomaterials design. In addition, we discuss the challenges caused by using nanomaterials in batteries, including undesired parasitic reactions with electrolytes, low volumetric and areal energy density, and high costs from complex multi-step processing, and their possible solutions. Nanomaterials design may offer a solution to tackle many fundamental problems in conventional batteries. Cui et al. review both the promises and challenges of using nanomaterials in lithium-based rechargeable batteries.

[1]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  Interconnected hollow carbon nanospheres for stable lithium metal anodes. , 2014, Nature nanotechnology.

[2]  W. D. de Heer,et al.  Carbon Nanotubes--the Route Toward Applications , 2002, Science.

[3]  Bing Tan,et al.  Mesoporous Co3O4 nanowire arrays for lithium ion batteries with high capacity and rate capability. , 2008, Nano letters.

[4]  Wenbin Zheng,et al.  Novel nanosized adsorbing sulfur composite cathode materials for the advanced secondary lithium batteries , 2006 .

[5]  J. Tarascon,et al.  Nano-sized transition-metal oxides as negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries , 2000, Nature.

[6]  T. Takamura,et al.  High Capacity, Reversible Silicon Thin Film Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries , 2003 .

[7]  J. Goodenough,et al.  Lithium Insertion into Transition-Metal Monosulfides: Tuning the Position of the Metal 4s Band , 2008 .

[8]  S. Chu,et al.  Ultrathin two-dimensional atomic crystals as stable interfacial layer for improvement of lithium metal anode. , 2014, Nano letters.

[9]  P. Bruce,et al.  Nanostructured materials for advanced energy conversion and storage devices , 2005, Nature materials.

[10]  G. Yushin,et al.  A Major Constituent of Brown Algae for Use in High-Capacity Li-Ion Batteries , 2011, Science.

[11]  P. Bruce,et al.  Nanomaterials for rechargeable lithium batteries. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[12]  Joachim Maier,et al.  Reversible Formation and Decomposition of LiF Clusters Using Transition Metal Fluorides as Precursors and Their Application in Rechargeable Li Batteries , 2003 .

[13]  Zhan Lin,et al.  Recent developments in nanostructured anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , 2011 .

[14]  Myung-Hyun Ryou,et al.  Mussel‐Inspired Adhesive Binders for High‐Performance Silicon Nanoparticle Anodes in Lithium‐Ion Batteries , 2013, Advanced materials.

[15]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  High-performance hollow sulfur nanostructured battery cathode through a scalable, room temperature, one-step, bottom-up approach , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  Jung Tae Lee,et al.  Plasma‐Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultrathin Oxide Coatings for Stabilized Lithium–Sulfur Batteries , 2013 .

[17]  Dipan Kundu,et al.  Surface-enhanced redox chemistry of polysulphides on a metallic and polar host for lithium-sulphur batteries , 2014, Nature Communications.

[18]  Jung Ho Yu,et al.  Two-dimensional layered transition metal disulphides for effective encapsulation of high-capacity lithium sulphide cathodes , 2014, Nature Communications.

[19]  L. Archer,et al.  Porous hollow carbon@sulfur composites for high-power lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[20]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  Cu‐Si Nanocable Arrays as High‐Rate Anode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries , 2011, Advanced materials.

[21]  Yi Cui,et al.  Fracture of crystalline silicon nanopillars during electrochemical lithium insertion , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[22]  Yi Cui,et al.  Stable cycling of double-walled silicon nanotube battery anodes through solid-electrolyte interphase control. , 2012, Nature nanotechnology.

[23]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  The synergetic effect of lithium polysulfide and lithium nitrate to prevent lithium dendrite growth , 2015, Nature Communications.

[24]  Martin Winter,et al.  Electrochemical lithiation of tin and tin-based intermetallics and composites , 1999 .

[25]  Emanuel Peled,et al.  Electrochemistry of a nonaqueous lithium/sulfur cell , 1983 .

[26]  Xuejie Huang,et al.  Research on Advanced Materials for Li‐ion Batteries , 2009 .

[27]  Ying Wang,et al.  Electrochemical Reactions of Lithium with Transition Metal Nitride Electrodes , 2004 .

[28]  Chunsheng Wang,et al.  Uniform nano-Sn/C composite anodes for lithium ion batteries. , 2013, Nano letters.

[29]  Yong Min Lee,et al.  Electrospun core-shell fibers for robust silicon nanoparticle-based lithium ion battery anodes. , 2012, Nano letters.

[30]  Shuo Chen,et al.  Platinum-gold nanoparticles: a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable lithium-air batteries. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[31]  J. Tarascon,et al.  High rate capabilities Fe3O4-based Cu nano-architectured electrodes for lithium-ion battery applications , 2006, Nature materials.

[32]  J. Dahn,et al.  Active/Inactive Nanocomposites as Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries. , 1999 .

[33]  Yi Cui,et al.  Studying the Kinetics of Crystalline Silicon Nanoparticle Lithiation with In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy , 2012, Advanced materials.

[34]  Wei Luo,et al.  Reconstruction of Conformal Nanoscale MnO on Graphene as a High‐Capacity and Long‐Life Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries , 2013 .

[35]  Yi Cui,et al.  Improving lithium–sulphur batteries through spatial control of sulphur species deposition on a hybrid electrode surface , 2014, Nature Communications.

[36]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  Amphiphilic surface modification of hollow carbon nanofibers for improved cycle life of lithium sulfur batteries. , 2013, Nano letters.

[37]  Young-Il Jang,et al.  Electrochemically-driven solid-state amorphization in lithium-silicon alloys and implications for lithium storage , 2003 .

[38]  Jaephil Cho,et al.  Three-dimensional porous silicon particles for use in high-performance lithium secondary batteries. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[39]  Ye Cai,et al.  Chemical reduction of three-dimensional silica micro-assemblies into microporous silicon replicas , 2007, Nature.

[40]  Michel Armand,et al.  A new class of Solvent-in-Salt electrolyte for high-energy rechargeable metallic lithium batteries , 2013, Nature Communications.

[41]  Yi Cui,et al.  High capacity Li ion battery anodes using ge nanowires. , 2008, Nano letters.

[42]  Jean-Marie Tarascon,et al.  Li-O2 and Li-S batteries with high energy storage. , 2011, Nature materials.

[43]  Yi Cui,et al.  In situ observation of divergent phase transformations in individual sulfide nanocrystals. , 2015, Nano letters.

[44]  Candace K. Chan,et al.  High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[45]  M. Verbrugge,et al.  The influence of surface mechanics on diffusion induced stresses within spherical nanoparticles , 2008 .

[46]  P. Novák,et al.  A review of the features and analyses of the solid electrolyte interphase in Li-ion batteries , 2010 .

[47]  Yu-Guo Guo,et al.  An Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphase Layer for Stable Lithium Metal Anodes , 2016, Advanced materials.

[48]  L. Nazar,et al.  A highly ordered nanostructured carbon-sulphur cathode for lithium-sulphur batteries. , 2009, Nature materials.

[49]  Andre K. Geim,et al.  The rise of graphene. , 2007, Nature materials.

[50]  Yi Cui,et al.  Rice husks as a sustainable source of nanostructured silicon for high performance Li-ion battery anodes , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[51]  M. Armand,et al.  Building better batteries , 2008, Nature.

[52]  Venkatasubramanian Viswanathan,et al.  Solvating additives drive solution-mediated electrochemistry and enhance toroid growth in non-aqueous Li-O₂ batteries. , 2015, Nature chemistry.

[53]  Younan Xia,et al.  One‐Dimensional Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications , 2003 .

[54]  Yi Cui,et al.  Inorganic Glue Enabling High Performance of Silicon Particles as Lithium Ion Battery Anode , 2011 .

[55]  Fredrickson,et al.  Triblock copolymer syntheses of mesoporous silica with periodic 50 to 300 angstrom pores , 1998, Science.

[56]  Yong-Mook Kang,et al.  Effects of Nanosized Adsorbing Material on Electrochemical Properties of Sulfur Cathodes for Li/S Secondary Batteries , 2004 .

[57]  Xiaogang Han,et al.  Next-Generation Lithium Metal Anode Engineering via Atomic Layer Deposition. , 2015, ACS nano.

[58]  G. Yushin,et al.  High-performance lithium-ion anodes using a hierarchical bottom-up approach. , 2010, Nature materials.

[59]  Hui Wu,et al.  Engineering empty space between Si nanoparticles for lithium-ion battery anodes. , 2012, Nano letters.

[60]  Xin-Bing Cheng,et al.  Conductive Nanostructured Scaffolds Render Low Local Current Density to Inhibit Lithium Dendrite Growth , 2016, Advanced materials.

[61]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  Sulphur–TiO2 yolk–shell nanoarchitecture with internal void space for long-cycle lithium–sulphur batteries , 2013, Nature Communications.

[62]  Klaus Müllen,et al.  3D Graphene Foams Cross‐linked with Pre‐encapsulated Fe3O4 Nanospheres for Enhanced Lithium Storage , 2013, Advanced materials.

[63]  Bruno Scrosati,et al.  Double Carbon Coating of LiFePO4 as High Rate Electrode for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries , 2010, Advanced materials.

[64]  Weiguo Song,et al.  Tin‐Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Elastic Hollow Carbon Spheres for High‐Performance Anode Material in Lithium‐Ion Batteries , 2008 .

[65]  J. Goodenough.  Challenges for Rechargeable Li Batteries , 2010 .

[66]  B. Scrosati,et al.  Lithium batteries: Status, prospects and future , 2010 .

[67]  Yi Cui,et al.  Silicon–Carbon Nanotube Coaxial Sponge as Li‐Ion Anodes with High Areal Capacity , 2011 .

[68]  Chong Seung Yoon,et al.  Nanostructured high-energy cathode materials for advanced lithium batteries. , 2012, Nature materials.

[69]  Kevin W. Eberman,et al.  Colossal Reversible Volume Changes in Lithium Alloys , 2001 .

[70]  A. Alivisatos.  Perspectives on the Physical Chemistry of Semiconductor Nanocrystals , 1996 .

[71]  P. Kumta,et al.  Si–SiC nanocomposite anodes synthesized using high-energy mechanical milling , 2004 .

[72]  Darren J. Martin,et al.  Tailoring the Void Size of Iron Oxide@Carbon Yolk–Shell Structure for Optimized Lithium Storage , 2014 .

[73]  H. Sohn,et al.  Black Phosphorus and its Composite for Lithium Rechargeable Batteries , 2007 .

[74]  Yi Cui,et al.  Improving the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries by conductive polymer coating. , 2011, ACS nano.

[75]  P. Bruce,et al.  A Reversible and Higher-Rate Li-O2 Battery , 2012, Science.

[76]  Jian Yu Huang,et al.  Size-dependent fracture of silicon nanoparticles during lithiation. , 2011, ACS nano.

[77]  Kang Xu,et al.  Nonaqueous liquid electrolytes for lithium-based rechargeable batteries. , 2004, Chemical reviews.

[78]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  A phosphorene-graphene hybrid material as a high-capacity anode for sodium-ion batteries. , 2015, Nature nanotechnology.

[79]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  Understanding the role of different conductive polymers in improving the nanostructured sulfur cathode performance. , 2013, Nano letters.

[80]  Hui Wu,et al.  A yolk-shell design for stabilized and scalable li-ion battery alloy anodes. , 2012, Nano letters.

[81]  P. Kumta,et al.  Si / TiN Nanocomposites Novel Anode Materials for Li ‐ Ion Batteries , 1999 .

[82]  Ya‐Xia Yin,et al.  Accommodating lithium into 3D current collectors with a submicron skeleton towards long-life lithium metal anodes , 2015, Nature Communications.

[83]  B. Dunn,et al.  Electrical Energy Storage for the Grid: A Battery of Choices , 2011, Science.

[84]  Doron Aurbach,et al.  Morphological and Structural Studies of Composite Sulfur Electrodes upon Cycling by HRTEM, AFM and Raman Spectroscopy , 2010 .

[85]  Seok-Gwang Doo,et al.  Silicon carbide-free graphene growth on silicon for lithium-ion battery with high volumetric energy density , 2015, Nature Communications.

[86]  Hyun-Wook Lee,et al.  A pomegranate-inspired nanoscale design for large-volume-change lithium battery anodes. , 2014, Nature nanotechnology.

[87]  J. Long,et al.  Introduction to metal-organic frameworks. , 2012, Chemical reviews.

[88]  Bruno Scrosati,et al.  Nanostructured Sn–C Composite as an Advanced Anode Material in High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries , 2007 .

[89]  Yi Cui,et al.  Sulfur cathodes with hydrogen reduced titanium dioxide inverse opal structure. , 2014, ACS Nano.

[90]  Yingchao Yu,et al.  Yolk-shell structure of polyaniline-coated sulfur for lithium-sulfur batteries. , 2013, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[91]  Jaephil Cho,et al.  A highly cross-linked polymeric binder for high-performance silicon negative electrodes in lithium ion batteries. , 2012, Angewandte Chemie.

[92]  J. Niu,et al.  High-rate aluminium yolk-shell nanoparticle anode for Li-ion battery with long cycle life and ultrahigh capacity , 2015, Nature Communications.

[93]  R. Kostecki,et al.  Electrochemical and Infrared Studies of the Reduction of Organic Carbonates , 2001 .

[94]  Dingchang Lin,et al.  A high tap density secondary silicon particle anode fabricated by scalable mechanical pressing for lithium-ion batteries , 2015 .

[95]  Arumugam Manthiram,et al.  Lithium–sulphur batteries with a microporous carbon paper as a bifunctional interlayer , 2012, Nature Communications.

[96]  O. Borodin,et al.  High rate and stable cycling of lithium metal anode , 2015, Nature Communications.

[97]  Yi Cui,et al.  Interconnected silicon hollow nanospheres for lithium-ion battery anodes with long cycle life. , 2011, Nano letters.

[98]  Claus Daniel,et al.  A study of lithium ion intercalation induced fracture of silicon particles used as anode material in Li-ion battery , 2011 .

[99]  J. Tarascon,et al.  FeP: Another Attractive Anode for the Li-Ion Battery Enlisting a Reversible Two-Step Insertion/Conversion Process , 2006 .

[100]  Naixin Xu,et al.  A novel conductive polymer-sulfur composite cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries , 2002 .