Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the portable electronics market, and they are currently pursued intensively for vehicle applications and storage of renewable energies (solar and wind energy). Cost, safety, cycle life, and energy and power densities are the critical parameters for these applications. With this perspective, there has been immense interest to develop new cathode and anode materials as well as to develop novel synthesis and processing approaches. This dissertation explores the use of novel synthesis approaches to obtain high-performance, nanostructured phosphate and silicate cathodes and iron oxide nanowire anodes and investigates their structure-property relationships. First, a novel microwave-solvothermal (MW-ST) approach has been developed to synthesize phase-pure, highly crystalline LiFePO₄ nanorods within 5-15 minutes at low temperatures of < 300 °C, without requiring reducing gas atmospheres. The LiFePO₄ nanorods, after forming a nanocomposite with conducting polymer or multi-walled carbon nanotubes or coating with conductive carbon, offer excellent cycle life and rate performance when implemented as cathodes in lithium-ion cells. In addition, other LiMPO₄ (M = Mn, Co, and Ni) olivine nanorods have also been synthesized by the MW-ST approach and characterized. The MW-ST process has then been extended to prepare a new class of carbon-coated, nanostructured silicates of the formula Li₂MSiO₄ (M = Fe and Mn). These materials have two times higher theoretical capacities (~ 330 mAh/g) than olivine phosphates (~ 170 mAh/g). Li₂FeSiO₄ exhibits practical discharge capacities of 148 mAh/g at room temperature and 203 mAh/g at 55 °C, with good rate capability and stable cycle life. Li₂MnSiO₄, on the other hand, shows higher discharge capacities of 210 mAh/g at room temperature and 250 mAh/g at 55 °C, but it exhibits poor rate performance and rapid capacity fade during cycling. In addition, carbon-coated olivine solid solution nano-particles of the formula LiM[subscript 1-y]M[subscript y]PO₄ (M = Fe, Mn, Co, and Mg), synthesized by a facile, high-energy mechanical milling process (HMME), have also been investigated. The electrochemical data reveal a systematic shift in the redox potential (open-circuit voltage) of the M²⁺/³⁺ couples in the LiM[subscript 1-y]M[subscript y]PO₄ solid solutions compared to those of the pristine LiMPO₄. The shifts in the redox potentials have been explained by the changes in the M-O covalence (inductive effect), which are caused by changes in the electronegativity of M or the M-O bond length or M-O-M interactions. Finally, a two-step microwave-hydrothermal process has been developed to synthesize carbon-decorated, single-crystalline Fe₃O₄ nanowires. The resulting iron oxide nanowires exhibit capacity values > 800 mAh/g with stable cycle life and high rate performance as an anode in lithium-ion cells. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2010-08-1651 |
| Date | 06 December 2010 |
| Creators | Theivanayagam, Murali Ganth |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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