(263b) Solvent-Based Synthesis and Integration of Engineered Nanomaterials in Energy Storage Devices

Careful control over composition, morphology, and surface chemistry are critical in virtually every materials system, and it is vital that these attributes are preserved in any scalable production process. Additional challenges arise for the implementation of novel materials in energy storage applications, where different material processing strategies and fabrication techniques can greatly impact the performance of a given active material. This talk will discuss the important role that the above characteristics play in our group’s research on the solvent-based and supercritical-fluid-based synthesis and integration of nanostructured electrode materials, with a focus on high-rate, high-capacity alloying electrode materials for use in Li- and Na-ion battery systems. These nanostructured composite materials have short internal diffusion pathways, possess robust mechanical characteristics, and can be processed in either liquid dispersion or solid/powder form. We show that careful control over active material surface chemistry helps to facilitate robust solid-electrolyte interphase layer formation, demonstrate that carefully engineered alloying electrodes can maintain capacity retention in the complete absence of fluorinated additives, and show that electrode processing plays a critical role in the formation of a robust composite architecture and overall device performance. The effects of structural anisotropy and surface oxidation on the sodiation of high-power-density, nanostructured antimony alloying electrodes will be discussed, in addition to efforts on microstructured electrode fabrication using state-of-the-art industrial-scale printing techniques. Finally, recent results on the utilization of a novel weblike inorganic material with large ionic conductivity will be presented, along with a discussion of its potential use in dual-ion batteries and promising future systems that utilize other types of earth-abundant working ions.