This doctoral thesis deals with properties of cathode materials for Lithium-Ion accumulators. The theoretical part consists of an overview of the cathode materials and a brief introduction into the very wide area of Lithium-Ion accumulators. The goal of this work was to study the LiCoO2 cathode material and to prepare some modifications of it by doping with other elements. This work was then extended with the study of the new generation of high-voltage cathode materials. The aim of this part was to study their synthesis, their physical and electrochemical properties and the influence of used electrolytes on their electrochemical stability. The work then focuses on the influence of doping these materials and the influence of another part of the battery – the separator – on the overall properties of these types of cathode materials. The results show that doping the LiCoO2 cathode material with sodium and potassium lead to an enhancement of some electrochemical properties as stability during cycling or stability at higher loads and also the long-term stability during aging is better. The LiNi0,5Mn1,5O4 high voltage material was synthetized in both its forms in comparable or even better quality compared with the results from foreign laboratories. The synthesis process was watched in-situ by SEM, thanks to which a unique study of the ongoing changes during synthesis was done. Also the best suitable electrolytes for this material were identified from the viewpoint of stability at high voltages, which is important for the future practical use. Doping of the material with chromium resulted in better stability and capacity both during cycling at standard conditions and at higher temperature and load. A significant impact of the separators on the overall electrochemical properties of the cathode materials was proved, which could be a big benefit for their future usage.

This thesis in its first part deals especially with characteristic of lithium ion accumulators in terms of their structure, electrochemical properties and also features of the most commonly used cathode materials. Especial attention is given to the high-voltage cathode material LiNi0,5Mn1,5O4 which cell voltage is close to 5V. The second practical part deals with the preparation of cathode materials based on LiNi0,5Mn1,5O4 with different temperatures in the second stage of annealing and analyzing them in terms of structure and electrochemical properties using appropriate measuring methods.

Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert einen Beitrag für ein besseres Verständnis über die zyklische Alterung von Siliciumnanopartikel (Si-NP) als Anodenmaterial in Lithium-Ionen- und Lithium-Schwefel-Batterien. Im Fokus der Studie stand der Einfluss der Partikelgröße, des Elektrodendesigns und der Elektrolytzusammensetzung auf die elektrochemische Reversibilität des Siliciums zur Lithiumspeicherung. Über umfangreiche strukturelle Charakterisierungstechniken mittels Röntgenbeugung, Elektronenmikroskopie und der Röntgenphotoelektronenspektroskopie in Verbindung mit elektrochemischen Untersuchungsmethoden, konnten wesentliche Mechanismen zur Degradation aufgeklärt und die Funktion diverser Oberflächenverbindungen auf der Siliciumanode identifiziert werden. Als Hauptursache der Degradation von Si-NP mit einer Partikelgröße unter 20 nm konnte das Wachstum der Solid-Electrolyte-Interface (SEI) identifiziert werden. Pulverisierung und die Bildung neuer kristalliner Phasen kann ausgeschlossen werden. Es wurde ein kostengünstiges und flexibles Verfahren zur Herstellung eines nanostrukturierten Silicium-Kohlenstoff-Komposites entwickelt, welches unter optimierten Bedingungen eine spezifische Kapazität von 1280 mAh/g(Elektrode) und einen Kapazitätserhalt von 81 % über 500 Tiefentladungszyklen liefert. Es konnten erfolgreich hoch reversible Flächenkapazitäten von 5 mAh/cm^2 bei nur 4,4 mg/cm^2 Elektrodengewicht nachgewiesen werden. Für die Arbeit wurde zunächst ein Verfahren zur Herstellung von monodispersen Si-NP mit einer Größe von 5 nm – 20 nm angewendet. Die galvanostatische Zyklierung gegen Lithiummetall hat ergeben, dass mit abnehmender Partikelgröße die Reversibilität des Siliciums zunimmt. Über in situ Synchrotron XRD und post mortem XPS konnte eine stabilere Solid-Electrolyte-Interface (SEI) mit abnehmender Partikelgröße als Hauptursache identifiziert werden. Im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeit wurden Si-NP im porösen Kohlenstoffgerüst durch ein leicht modifiziertes Herstellungsverfahren abgeschieden und untersucht. Durch das veränderte Elektrodendesign konnte die Reversibilität bei gleichem Kohlenstoffgehalt deutlich verbessert werden, da der Kontaktverlust des Siliciums zum leitfähigen Gerüst durch SEI Wachstum verzögert wird. Die Elektrolytadditive Fluoroethylencarbonat und Vinylencarbonat führen zu einer weiteren Verbesserung der Reversibilität, wobei Vinylencarbonat die höchste Reversibilität zur Folge hat, jedoch einen hohen Filmwiderstand verursacht. Weiterhin wurden etherbasierte Elektrolyte, welche typischerweise in Lithium-Schwefel-Batterien zum Einsatz kommen, untersucht. Hierbei wurde eine positive Wirkung von Lithiumnitrat auf die Reversibilität von Silicium festgestellt. Es konnten erfolgreich Si-Li-S (SLS) Vollzellen getestet werden, welche eine höhere Lebensdauer als vergleichbare Zellen mit Lithiummetall als Anode aufweisen. Aus den elektrochemischen und post mortem Untersuchungen konnte ein positiver Einfluss von Polysulfiden auf die SEI von Silicium nachgewiesen werden. Durch die umfangreichen post mortem Analysen konnte die Funktion diverser, in der SEI des Siliciums auftretender Verbindungen in Abhängigkeit der Elektrolytzusammensetzung aufgeklärt werden. Es wurde ein anschaulicher Mechanismus des SEI Wachstums in Abhängigkeit des Elektrolyts erstellt. / The results of this work provide a better understanding about the cyclic aging of silicon nanoparticles (Si-NP) as anode material in Lithium-ion- and Lithium-sulfur batteries. Subject of investigation was the influence of particle size, electrode design and electrolyte composition on the electrochemical reversibility of Si-NP for lithium storage. The main characterization techniques used in this study were XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS combined with electrochemical analysis and in situ synchrotron XRD. Bare silicon nanoparticles ranging from 5 – 20 nm and silicon nanoparticles embedded within a porous carbon scaffold were prepared through a cost-effective and novel synthesis technique including the hydrolysis of trichlorosilane as feedstock. The dominant degradation mechanism of these silicon nanoparticles was identified to be the continuous growth the solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI). Other phenomena such as pulverisation or new evolving crystalline phases are excluded. It was found that a reduction of the particle size from 20 nm to 5 nm increases the reversibility due to a thicker and therewith more stable SEI. The deposition of the silicon nanoparticles into a porous carbon scaffold caused a significant improvement of the reversibility at constant carbon content. The effect of the electrolyte additives Fluoroethylene carbonate and Vinylene carbonate was analysed in detail. Furthermore, typical electrolyte compositions used for lithium-sulfur-batteries were tested and studied. Si-Li-S (SLS) full cells were demonstrated which outperform conventional lithium-sulfur batteries in terms of life time. The systematic analysis and the rational optimization process of the particle size, electrode design and electrolyte composition allowed to provide a nanostructured silicon electrode with a specific capacity of up to 1280 mAh/g(Electrode) and 81 % capacity retention after 500 deep discharge cycles. Reversible areal capacities of 5 mAh/cm^2 at 4.4 mg/cm^2 electrode weight were demonstrated.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are now attracting great attention for applications in portable electronic devices and electrical vehicles, because of their high energy density, long cycle and great convenience. For new generations of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, they applied not only to consumer electronics but also especially to clean energy storage and hybrid electric vehicles. Therefore, further breakthroughs in electrode materials that open up a new important avenue are essential. Graphite, the most commonly used commercial anode material, has a limited reversible lithium intercalation capacity (372 mAh g-1). In this regard, tremendous efforts have been made towards even further improving high capacity, excellent rate capability, and cycling stability by developing advanced anode materials. This work focuses on the lithium storage properties of nickel oxide (NiO) and germanium (Ge) nanomembranes anodes mainly fabricated by electron-beam evaporation. Specifically, NiO is selected for conversion-type material because of high theoretical specific capacity of 718 mAh g-1 and easily obtained material. The resultant curved NiO nanomembranes anodes exhibit ultrafast power rate of 50 C (1 C = 718 mA g-1) and good capacity retention (721 mAh g-1, 1400 cycles). Remarkably, multifunctional Ni/NiO hybrid nanomembranes were further fabricated and investigated. Benefiting from the advantages of the intrinsic architecture and the electrochemical catalysis of metallic nickel, the hybrid Ni/NiO anodes could be tested at an ultrahigh rate of ~115 C. With Ge as active alloying-type material (1624 mAh g-1), the effect of the incorporated oxygen to the lithium storage properties of amorphous Ge nanomembranes is well studied. The oxygen-enabled Ge (GeOx) nanomembranes exhibit improved electrochemical properties of highly reversible capacity (1200 mAh g-1), and robust cycling performance.

Batteries are promising sources of green and sustainable energy that have been widely used in various applications. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have an important role in the energy storage sector due to its high specific energy and energy density relative to other rechargeable batteries. The main challenges for keeping the LIBs to work under safe conditions, and at high performance are strongly related to the battery thermal management. In this study, a critical literature review is first carried out to present the technology development status of the battery thermal management system (BTMS) based on air and liquid cooling for the application of battery energy storage systems (BESS). It was found that more attention has paid to the BTMS for electrical vehicle (EV) applications than for stationary BESS. Even though the active forced air cooling is the most commonly used method for stationary BESS, limited technical information is available. Liquid cooling has widely been used in EV applications with different system configurations and cooling patterns; nevertheless, the application for BESS is hard to find in literature.To ensure and analyze the performance of air and liquid cooling system, a battery and thermal model developed to be used for modeling of BTMS. The models are based on the car company BMW EV battery pack, which using Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) prismatic lithium-ion cell. Both air and liquid cooling have been studied to evaluate the thermal performance of LIBs under the two cooling systems.According to the result, the air and liquid cooling are capable of maintaining BESS under safe operation conditions, but with considering some limits. The air-cooling is more suitable for low surrounding temperature or at low charging/discharge rate (C-rate), while liquid cooling enables BESS to operate at higher C-rates and higher surrounding temperatures. However, the requirement on the maximum temperature difference within a cell will limits the application of liquid cooling in some discharge cases at high C-rate. Finally, this work suggests that specific attention should be paid to the pack design. The design of the BMW pack is compact, which makes the air-cooling performance less efficient because of the air circulation inside the pack is low and liquid cooling is more suitable for this type of compact battery pack.

Batteries play an important role in a sustainable future. As the development for better andsmarter batteries continues, new areas of use emerge boosting its demand. Controlling thetemperature of a battery cell is a vital objective to ensure its longevity and performance. Bothcooling and heating methods can be applied to keep the temperature within a certain rangedepending on its need. This study will review the technical aspects of lithium-ion batteries,observe the different thermal management systems and cooling methods, and lastly examinethe required cooling flow needed for a battery cell to prevent its temperature from rising tocritical levels during its discharge. Using CFD ANSYS Fluent as a simulation tool, the resultsshow that different charging rates, in terms of C-rate, require different rates of mass flow tocontrol the temperature. Simulating the cell with natural convection, the cell peaks at hightemperatures even at lower C-rates, reaching up to 36,4°C and 48,8°C for 1C and 2C,respectively. Applying the cooling method with a flow rate of 0,0077kg/s reduces thetemperature significantly, resulting in temperatures of 26,95°C and 31,27°C for 1C and 2C,respectively.

The performance and lifetime of lithium-ion batteries are strongly influenced by their composition. One category of critical components are electrolyte additives, which are included primarily to stabilize electrode/electrolyte interfaces in the battery cells by forming passivation layers. The presented study aimed to identify and study such an additive that could form a hydrogen-evolution-suppressing solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in lithium-ion batteries based on aqueous electrolytes. A promising molecular additive, ethyl 2,2-difluoroacetate (EDFA), was found to hold the qualities required for an SEI former and was herein further analyzed electrochemically. Analysis of the battery cells were performed with linear sweep voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry with varying scan rate and EDFA concentrations. Results show that both 1 and 10 w-% EDFA in the electrolyte produced hydrogen-evolution-suppressing SEI:s, although the higher concentration provided no apparent benefit. Lithium-ion full-cells based on LiMn2O4 vs. Li4Ti5O12 active materials displayed poor, though partly reversible, dis-/charge cycling despite the operation of the electrode far outside the electrochemical stability window of the electrolyte. Inclusion of reference electrodes in the lithium-ion cells proved to be immensely challenging with unpredictable drifts in their electrode potentials during operation. To summarize, HER-suppressing electrolyte additives are demonstrated to be a promising approach to stabilize high-voltage operation of aqueous lithium-ion cells although further studies are necessary before any practical application thereof can be realized. Electrochemical evaluation of the reaction mechanism and efficiency of the electrolyte additives relies however heavily on the use of reference electrodes and further development thereof is necessary.

Die untersuchten Ausgangsmaterialien α-Fe2U3, ɣ-Fe2O3, Fe3O4, CoO, Co3O4, NiO sowie CuO eignen sich durch ihre hohe theoretische spezifische Kapazität als Elektrodenmaterial für Lithium-Ionen-Batterien. Die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen zur Speicherung der Li-Ionen konnten mit allen Phasenumwandlungen und der Bildung von Zwischenprodukten im ersten Reduktionsschritt beschrieben werden. In Abhängigkeit von der Kristallstruktur der Ausgangsmaterialien und den Reaktionsgeschwindigkeiten konnten der Gesamtreaktion die einzelnen Mechanismen Interkalation von Li-Ionen, Substitution von Kationen in der Kristallstruktur und Konversionsmechanismus zugeordnet werden. Auf Grund des gemeinsamen kubisch flächenzentrierten Sauerstoffuntergitters der Ausgangsmaterialien und Zwischenprodukte zeigen sich für die Materialsysteme Fe-O, Co-O und Ni-O Orientierungsbeziehungen zwischen den Kristalliten des Ausgangsoxids, des lithiierten Metalloxids und der Li2O-Matrix. Im Gegensatz dazu sind die auf der CuO-Phase basierenden Kristallite regellos orientiert und zeigen eine höhere Zyklenstabilität. Die Orientierungsbeziehung zwischen den lithiierten Metalloxiden und der Li2O-Matrix hindert dagegen den Austausch der Li-Ionen, beeinträchtigt die Zyklenstabilität und trägt so zu einer schnelleren Alterung der Elektrode bei.

Målet med arbetet var att undersöka vilka tekniker som finns för att bekämpa bränder i elbilar ombord på fartyg och vilka farliga gaser som elbilar med litiumjonbatterier avger när de brinner.  För att svara på dessa gjordes en metaanalys för att undersöka hälsoriskerna med några av de farliga gaserna som uppstår, hur man minskar hälsorisken som följer bränder i litiumjonbatteri genom användning av särskild utrustning, samt vilka åtgärder som går att utnyttja ombord på fartyg,   Litiumjonbatterier har även visats sig problematiska att släcka, men det har dykt upp särskilda släckmedel för att bekämpa dessa bränder. I arbetet undersöks några av dessa släckmedel. Då teknologin bakom batteridrift i fordon fortfarande är relativt ny och precis börjar bli vanligt på våra gator, så finns det ännu inte mycket direktiv om vilka åtgärder som bör tas för en effektiv släckning, förhindra återtändning och skydda personers hälsa ombord på fartyg. Därför har vi valt att titta på vilka rutiner det finns i land för att se om de går att tillämpa ombord. / The purpose of this thesis was to examine which techniques exists to fight fires in electrical vehicles aboard ships and which harmful substances electrical vehicles releases when burning. To answer these questions, we performed a meta-analysis to understand some of the harmful gases that will be present during an EV fire, how to minimize the health hazard that comes with fires in lithium-ion batteries using certain equipment and what measures that can be taken aboard ships.  Li-ion batteries have also proven to be problematic to extinguish, but there have emerged certain extinguishing agents to fight these types of fires. In this thesis we look at some of these extinguishing agents. As technology being used in battery powered vehicles is still new and just becoming common on our streets, there is not a whole lot of directives on how to be effective in extinguishing them, prevent reignition and protect the health of people abord ships. That is why we have chosen to look at what is being used on shore and see if it can be applied on ships.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Rechargeable lithium ion batteries are widely used in portable consumer electronics such as cellphones, laptops, etc. These batteries are capable to provide high energy density with no memory effect and they have small self-discharge when they are not in use, which increases their potential for future electric vehicles. Investigators are attempting to improve the performance of these cells by focusing on the energy density, cost, safety, and durability. The energy density improves with high operation voltage and high capacity. Before any further development of high voltage materials, safe electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical window, and high stability with both electrodes need to be developed. In this thesis a new strategy was investigated to develop electrolytes that can contribute to the further development of battery technology. The first study is focused on preparing a hybrid electrolyte, the combination of inorganic solid and organic liquid, for lithium based rechargeable batteries to illustrate the effect of electrode/electrolyte interfacing on electrochemical performance. This system behaves as a self-safety device at higher temperatures and provides better performance in comparison with the solid electrolyte cell, and it is also competitive with the pure liquid electrolyte cell. Then a multilayer electrolyte cell (MEC) was designed and developed as a new tool for investigating electrode/electrolyte interfacial reactions in a battery system. The MEC consists of two liquid electrolytes (L.E.) separated by a solid electrolyte (S.E.) which prevents electrolyte crossover while selectively transporting Li+ ions. The MEC successfully reproduced the performance of LiFePO4 comparable with that obtained from coin cells. In addition, the origin of capacity fading in LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4full-cell (with graphite negative electrode) was studied using the MEC. The performance of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 MEC full-cell was superior to that of coin full-cell by eliminating the Mn dissolution problem on graphite negative electrode as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The MEC can be a strong tool for identifying the electrochemical performances of future high voltage positive electrode materials and their electrode/electrolyte interfacial reactions. Finally, by employing the multilayer electrolyte concept, a new application will be introduced to recycle the lithium. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using water and the contents of waste Li-ion batteries for the electrodes in a Li-liquid battery system. Li metal was collected electrochemically from a waste Li-ion battery containing Li-ion source materials from the battery’s anode, cathode, and electrolyte, thereby recycling the Li contained in the waste battery at the room temperature.