Aluminum “Yolk-and-Shell” Nanoparticle Boosts Capacity and Power of Lithium-ion Batteries

 


An aluminum "yolk-and-shell" nanoparticle may increase the power and capacity of lithium-ion batteries, according to new research from MIT and Tsinghua University in China. 


The electrodes in rechargeable batteries must expand and contract during each cycle of charging and discharging, sometimes doubling in volume before shrinking back, which is a major issue for them. This may result in the battery's "skin" layer repeatedly shedding and reforming, consuming lithium irreversibly and decreasing its performance over time. 


MIT and Tsinghua University in China have collaborated on a new solution to this issue: creating a nanoparticle-based electrode with a solid shell and a "yolk" inside that can grow and shrink without changing the shell.  According to the team, the innovation has the potential to significantly extend the battery's cycle life and significantly increase its capacity and power. 


In a paper by MIT professor J U Li and six others, the new findings, which use aluminum as the primary material for the lithium-ion battery's negative electrode, or anode, are published in the journal Nature Communications. According to the team's findings, nanoparticles containing a titanium dioxide shell and an aluminum yolk have proven to be the high-rate champion among high-capacity anodes. 


Anodes made of graphite, a type of carbon, are used in the majority of current lithium-ion batteries, the most common type of rechargeable battery. Graphite has a charge stockpiling limit of 0.35 ampere-hours per gram (Ah/g). For a long time, researchers have looked into other options that could store more energy at a given weight. 


Lithium metal, for instance, is extremely dangerous and has the potential to short-circuit or even catch fire. However, it can store approximately ten times as much energy per gram. The capacity of silicon and tin is extremely high, but it decreases at high charging and discharging rates


Aluminum is a minimal expense choice, with a hypothetical limit of 2 Ah/g. However, according to Li, "when they get to high capacity, when they absorb lithium", aluminum and other high-capacity materials "expand a lot". After that, when they release lithium, they shrink. 


The significant mechanical stress caused by the aluminum particles' expansion and contraction can result in the disconnection of electrical contacts. Additionally, the solid-electrolyte interphase (S E-I) layer, which would be okay if not for the repeated large volume expansion and shrinkage that causes S E-I particles to shed, will always decompose at the required charge and discharge voltages when the liquid electrolyte comes into contact with the aluminum. As a consequence of this, previous endeavors to create an aluminum electrode for lithium-ion batteries had failed. 


That's how the yolk-shell nanoparticle idea of using confined aluminum came about. There is a significant distinction between nanoparticles known as "core-shell" and "yolk-shell" in the field of nanotechnology. The former have a shell that is bonded directly to the core, whereas yolk-shell particles have a gap between the two, similar to where an egg's white would be. The "yolk" material can therefore freely expand and contract without affecting the "shell's" dimensions or stability. 


Between the two electrodes of the battery, Li claims, "We made a titanium oxide shell that separates the aluminum from the liquid electrolyte". According to him, the shell doesn't change much, so the S E-I coating is very stable and doesn't fall off, and the aluminum inside is protected from the electrolyte


Aluminum powders are mixed with titanium polysulfate saturated sulfuric acid to create the particles. The aluminum core shrinks to a "yolk" 30 nm across after several hours in the acid. At typical charging rates, titanium-shell electrodes offer more than three times the capacity of graphite. After 500 cycles, the capacity remains at 0.66 A/g at very fast charging rates. The materials are cheap, and the process of making them could be simple and easy to scale up

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