Lithium-ion battery is attractive for various applications because of its high energy density. The performance of Li-ion battery is influenced by several properties of the electrode materials such as particle size, surface area, ionic and electronic conductivity, etc. Porosity is another important property of the electrode material, which influences the performance. Pores can allow the electrolyte to creep inside the particles and also facilitate volume expansion/contraction arising from intercalation/deintercalation of Li+ ions. Additionally, the rate capability and cycle-life can be enhanced. The following porous electrode materials are investigated. Poorly crystalline porous -MnO2 is synthesized by hydrothermal route from a neutral aqueous solution of KMnO4 at 180 oC and the reaction time of 24 h. On heating, there is a decrease in BET surface area and also a change in morphology from nanopetals to clusters of nanorods. As prepared MnO2 delivers a high discharge specific capacity of 275 mAh g-1 at a specific current of 40 mA g-1 (C/5 rate). Lithium rich manganese oxide (Li2MnO3) is prepared by reverse microemulsion method employing Pluronic acid (P123) as a soft template. It has a well crystalline structure with a broadly distributed mesoporosity but low surface area. However, the sample gains surface area with narrowly distributed mesoporosity and also electrochemical activity after treating in 4 M H2SO4. A discharge capacity of about 160 mAh g-1 is obtained at a discharge current of 30 mA g-1. When the acid-treated sample is heated at 300 °C, the resulting porous sample with a large surface area and dual porosity provides a discharge capacity of 240 mAh g-1 at a discharge current density of 30 mA g-1. Solid solutions of Li2MnO3 and LiMO2 (M=Mn, Ni, Co, Fe and their composites) are more attractive positive electrode materials because of its high capacity >200 mAh g-1.The solid solutions are prepared by microemulsion and polymer template route, which results in porous products. All the solid solution samples exhibit high discharge capacities with high rate capability. Porous flower-like α-Fe2O3 nanostructures is synthesized by ethylene glycol mediated iron alkoxide as an intermediate and heated at different temperatures from 300 to 700 oC. The α-Fe2O3 samples possess porosity with high surface area and deliver discharge capacity values of 1063, 1168, 1183, 1152 and 968 mAh g-1 at a specific current of 50 mA g-1 when prepared at 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 oC, respectively. Partially exfoliated and reduced graphene oxide (PE-RGO) is prepared by thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide (GO) under normal air atmosphere at 200-500 oC. Discharge capacity values of 771, 832, 1074 and 823 mAh g -1 are obtained with current density of 30 mA g-1 at 1st cycle for PE-RGO samples prepared at 200, 300, 400 and 500 oC, respectively. The electrochemical performance improves on increasing of exfoliation temperature, which is attributed to an increase in surface area. The high rate capability is attributed to porous nature of the material. Results of these studies are presented and discussed in the thesis.

Die Menschheit steht vor der großen Herausforderung der Energieversorgung des 21. Jahrhundert. Nirgendwo ist diese noch dringlicher geworden als im Bereich der Energiespeicherung und Umwandlung. Konventionelle Energie kommt hauptsächlich aus fossilen Brennstoffen, die auf der Erde nur begrenzt vorhanden sind, und hat zu einer starken Belastung der Umwelt geführt. Zusätzlich nimmt der Energieverbrauch weiter zu, insbesondere durch die rasante Verbreitung von Fahrzeugen und verschiedener Kundenelektronik wie PCs und Mobiltelefone. Alternative Energiequellen sollten vor einer Energiekrise entwickelt werden. Die Gewinnung erneuerbarer Energie aus Sonne und Wind sind auf jeden Fall sehr wichtig, aber diese Energien sind oft nicht gleichmäßig und andauernd vorhanden. Energiespeichervorrichtungen sind daher von großer Bedeutung, weil sie für eine Stabilisierung der umgewandelten Energie sorgen. Darüber hinaus ist es eine enttäuschende Tatsache, dass der Akku eines Smartphones jeglichen Herstellers heute gerade einen Tag lang ausreicht, und die Nutzer einen zusätzlichen Akku zur Hand haben müssen. Die tragbare Elektronik benötigt dringend Hochleistungsenergiespeicher mit höherer Energiedichte. Der erste Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit beinhaltet Lithium-Ionen-Batterien unter Verwendung von einzelnen aufgerollten Siliziumstrukturen als Anoden, die durch nanotechnologische Methoden hergestellt werden. Eine Lab-on-Chip-Plattform wird für die Untersuchung der elektrochemischen Kinetik, der elektrischen Eigenschaften und die von dem Lithium verursachten strukturellen Veränderungen von einzelnen Siliziumrohrchen als Anoden in einer Lithium-Ionen-Batterie vorgestellt. In dem zweiten Teil wird ein neues Design und die Herstellung von flexiblen on-Chip, Festkörper Mikrosuperkondensatoren auf Basis von MnOx/Au-Multischichten vorgestellt, die mit aktueller Mikroelektronik kompatibel sind. Der Mikrosuperkondensator erzielt eine maximale Energiedichte von 1,75 mW h cm-3 und eine maximale Leistungsdichte von 3,44 W cm-3. Weiterhin wird ein flexibler und faserartig verwebter Superkondensator mit einem Cu-Draht als Substrat vorgestellt. Diese Dissertation wurde im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts GRK 1215 "Rolled-up Nanotechnologie für on-Chip Energiespeicherung" 2010-2013, finanziell unterstützt von der International Research Training Group (IRTG), und dem PAKT Projekt "Elektrochemische Energiespeicherung in autonomen Systemen, no. 49004401" 2013-2014, angefertigt. Das Ziel der Projekte war die Entwicklung von fortschrittlichen Energiespeichermaterialien für die nächste Generation von Akkus und von flexiblen Superkondensatoren, um das Problem der Energiespeicherung zu addressieren. Hier bedanke ich mich sehr, dass IRTG mir die Möglichkeit angebotet hat, die Forschung in Deutschland stattzufinden. / Human beings are facing the grand energy challenge in the 21st century. Nowhere has this become more urgent than in the area of energy storage and conversion. Conventional energy is based on fossil fuels which are limited on the earth, and has caused extensive environmental pollutions. Additionally, the consumptions of energy are still increasing, especially with the rapid proliferation of vehicles and various consumer electronics like PCs and cell phones. We cannot rely on the earth’s limited legacy forever. Alternative energy resources should be developed before an energy crisis. The developments of renewable conversion energy from solar and wind are very important but these energies are often not even and continuous. Therefore, energy storage devices are of significant importance since they are the one stabilizing the converted energy. In addition, it is a disappointing fact that nowadays a smart phone, no matter of which brand, runs out of power in one day, and users have to carry an extra mobile power pack. Portable electronics demands urgently high-performance energy storage devices with higher energy density. The first part of this work involves lithium-ion micro-batteries utilizing single silicon rolled-up tubes as anodes, which are fabricated by the rolled-up nanotechnology approach. A lab-on-chip electrochemical device platform is presented for probing the electrochemical kinetics, electrical properties and lithium-driven structural changes of a single silicon rolled-up tube as an anode in lithium ion batteries. The second part introduces the new design and fabrication of on chip, all solid-state and flexible micro-supercapacitors based on MnOx/Au multilayers, which are compatible with current microelectronics. The micro-supercapacitor exhibits a maximum energy density of 1.75 mW h cm-3 and a maximum power density of 3.44 W cm-3. Furthermore, a flexible and weavable fiber-like supercapacitor is also demonstrated using Cu wire as substrate. This dissertation was written based on the research project supported by the International Research Training Group (IRTG) GRK 1215 "Rolled-up nanotech for on-chip energy storage" from the year 2010 to 2013 and PAKT project "Electrochemical energy storage in autonomous systems, no. 49004401" from 2013 to 2014. The aim of the projects was to design advanced energy storage materials for next-generation rechargeable batteries and flexible supercapacitors in order to address the energy issue. Here, I am deeply indebted to IRTG for giving me an opportunity to carry out the research project in Germany. September 2014, IFW Dresden, Germany Wenping Si

<p>Two studies incorporated providing the groundwork for a blueprint to design sodium sulfur cells from electrode fabrication to choices in electrolyte such as DME, DEGDME, TEGDME and two different salts NaClO4 and NaPF6. First study describes role of the binder within the system comparing carboxymethyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose with a styrene butadiene elastomer addition. The second study focuses on methods to prevent polysulfide shuttling within room temperature sodium sulfur system</p>

<h4>A generalized physics-based modeling framework is presented to analyze: (a) the effects of temperature on identified degradation mechanisms, (b) interfacial debonding processes, including deterministic and stochastic mechanisms, and (c) establishing model performance benchmarks of electrochemical porous electrode theory models, as a necessary stepping stone to perform valid battery degradation analyses and designs. Specifically, the effects of temperature were incorporated into a physics-based, reduced-order model and extended for a LiCoO₂ -graphite 18650 cell. Three dimensionless driving forces were identified, controlling the temperature-dependent reversible charge capacity. The identified temperature-dependent irreversible mechanisms include homogeneous SEI, at moderate to high temperatures, and the chemomechanical degradation of the cathode at low temperatures. Also, debonding of a statistically representative electrochemically active particle from the surrounding binder-electrolyte matrix in a porous electrode was modeled analytically, for the first time. The proposed framework enables to determine the space of C-Rates and electrode particle radii that suppresses or enhances debonding and is graphically summarized into performance–microstructure maps where four debonding mechanisms were identified, and condensed into power-law relations with respect to the particle radius. Finally, in order to incorporate existing or emerging degradation models into porous electrode theory (PET) implementations, a set of benchmarks were proposed to establish a common basis to assess their physical reaches, limitations, and accuracy. Three open source models: dualfoil, MPET, and LIONSIMBA were compared, exhibiting significant qualitative differences, despite showing the same macroscopic voltage response, leading the user to different conclusions regarding the battery performance and possible degradation mechanisms of the analyzed system.</h4>

<p dir="ltr">In today’s age of information, we are constantly informed about our surroundings by the network of distributed sensors to decide the next action. One major class of distributed sensors is wearable, implantable, and environmental (WIE) electrochemical sensors, widely used for analyte concentration measurement in personalized healthcare, environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, food, and chemical industries. Although WIE sensors offer an opportunity for prompt and prudent decisions, reliable sensing with such sensors is a big challenge. Among them, one is uncontrolled outside environment. Rapidly varying temperature, humidity, and target concentration increase noise and decrease the data reliability of the sensors. Second, because they are closely coupled to the physical world, they are subject to biofouling, radiation exposure, and water ingress which causes physical degradation. Moreover, to correct the drift due to degradation, frequent calibration is not possible once the sensor is deployed in the field. Another challenge is the energy supply needed to support the autonomous WIE sensors. If the sensor is wireless, it must be powered by a battery or an energy harvester. Unfortunately, batteries have limited lifetime and energy harvesters cannot supply power on-demand limiting their overall operation.</p><p dir="ltr">The objective of this thesis is to achieve reliable sensing with WIE sensors by overcoming the challenges of uncontrolled environment, drift or degradation, and calibration subject to limited power supplies. First, we have developed a concept of “Nernst thermometry” for potentiometric ion-selective electrodes (ISE) with which we have self-corrected concentration fluctuation due to uncontrolled temperature. Next, by using “Nernst thermometry,” we have developed a physics-guided data analysis method for drift detection and self-calibration of WIE ISE. For WIE sensor, wireless data transmission is an energy-intensive operation. To reduce unreliable data transmission, we have developed a statistical approach to monitor the credibility of the sensor continuously and transmit only credible sensor data. To understand and monitor the cause of ISE degradation, we have proposed a novel on-the-fly equivalent circuit extraction method that does not require any external power supply or complex measurements. To ensure an on-demand power supply, we have presented the concept of “signal as a source of energy.” By circuit simulation and long-term experimental analysis, we have shown that ISE can indefinitely sense and harvest energy from the analyte. We have theoretically calculated the maximum achievable power with such systems and presented ways to achieve it practically. Overall, the thesis presents a holistic approach to developing a self-sustainable WIE sensor with environmental variation correction, self-calibration, reliable data transmission, and lifelong self-powering capabilities, bringing smart agriculture and environmental sensing one step closer to reality.</p>