Dec 13, 2018
(Nanowerk News) Conventional lithium ion batteries, such as those widely used in smartphones and notebooks, have reached performance limits. Materials chemist Freddy Kleitz from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna and international scientists have developed a new nanostructured anode material for lithium ion batteries, which extends the capacity and cycle life of the batteries.
Based on a mesoporous mixed metal oxide in combination with graphene, the material could provide a new approach how to make better use of batteries in large devices such as electric or hybrid vehicles.
The study has now been published as cover story of the current issue of Advanced Energy Materials ("Spray-Dried Mesoporous Mixed Cu-Ni [email protected] Nanocomposite Microspheres for High Power and Durable Li-Ion Battery Anodes").
HRSEM picture of a 2D/3D nanocomposite based on graphene. (Image: Freddy Kleitz/Universität Wien; Glaudio Gerbaldi/Politecnico di Torino)
High energy density, extended cycle life and no memory effect: Lithium ion batteries are the most widespread energy storage devices for mobile devices as well as bearers of hope for electro mobility. Researchers are looking for new types of active electrode material in order to push the batteries at the next level of high performance and durability, and to make them better usable for large devices.
"Nanostructured lithium ion battery materials could provide a good solution", says Freddy Kleitz from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry – Functional Materials of the University of Vienna, who together with Claudio Gerbaldi, leader of the Group for Applied Materials and Electrochemistry at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy, is the study’s main author.
The 2D/3D nanocomposite based on a mixed metal oxide and graphene, developed by the two scientists and their teams, seriously enhances the electrochemical performance of lithium ion batteries.
"In our test runs, the new electrode material provided significantly improved specific capacity with unprecedented reversible cycling stability over 3,000 reversible charge and discharge cycles even at very high current regimes up to 1,280 milliamperes", says Department Head Freddy Kleitz. Today’s lithium ion batteries lose their performance after about 1,000 charging cycles.
![HRSEM picture of a 2D/3D nanocomposite based on graphene](https://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news2/id51700.jpg)