• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.10-16
• /
• 2002

In the leaching of $LiCoO_2$with a strong acid such as sulfuric and nitric acid, an additional step was needed to recover cobalt and lithium separately from spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The leaching of $LiCoO_2$in an oxalic acid solution was investigated to recover cobalt selectively using a low solubility of cobalt oxalate at low pH. Leaching efficiency of 95% of lithium and less than 1% of cobalt were obtained when pure $LiCoO_2$powder was leached in 3M oxalic acid at $80^{\circ}C$ and 50 g/L pulpdensity. Under the above leaching conditions, complete dissolution of lithium was accomplished with mere 0.25% of cobalt in the solution when the cathodic active material collected from spent LIBs was employed. The lithium in the leaching solution can be recovered as a form of carbonate or hydroxide depending on the addition of $Na_2$$CO_3$or LiOH.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.169-175
• /
• 2019

In lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the stress induced by the volume change of an electrode during charge-discharge processes may often cause the mechanical integrity of the electrode to degrade. Polymer binders with enhanced mechanical properties are preferred for improved mechanical integrity and cycling stability of the electrode. In addition, given that sliding and shearing between the polymer binder and components in the electrode may readily occur, frictional and adhesion characteristics of the polymer binder may play a critical role in the mechanical integrity of the electrode. In this study, frictional and adhesion characteristics of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were investigated using a colloidal probe atomic force microscope. Friction loops were obtained under various normal forces ranging from 0 to 159 nN in air and electrolyte and then the interfacial shear strengths of PAN and PVDF in air were calculated to be $1.4{\pm}0.5$ and $1.3{\pm}0.3MPa$, respectively. The results show that in electrolyte, interfacial shear strength of PAN decreased slightly ($1.2{\pm}0.2MPa$), whereas that of PVDF decreased drastically ($0.06{\pm}0.01MPa$). Decreases in mechanical properties and adhesion in electrolyte may be responsible for the decrease in interfacial shear strength in electrolyte. The findings from this study may be helpful in developing polymer binders to improve the mechanical integrity of electrodes in LIBs.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.183-188
• /
• 2021

The increasing demand for energy storage in mobile electronic devices and electric vehicles has emphasized the importance of electrochemical energy storage devices such as Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors. For reversible Li storage, alternative anode materials are actively being developed. In this study, we designed and fabricated an Nb₂O₅-Li₃VO₄ composite for use as an anode material in LIBs and hybrid supercapacitors. Nb₂O₅ powders were dissolved into a solution and the precursors were precipitated onto Li₃VO₄ through a simple, low-temperature hydrothermal reaction. The annealing process yielded an Nb₂O₅-Li₃VO₄ composite that was characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical tests revealed that the Nb₂O₅-Li₃VO₄ composite electrode demonstrated increased capacities of approximately 350 and 140 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 and 5 C, respectively, were maintained up to 1000 cycles. The reversible capacity and rate capability of the composite electrode were enhanced compared to those of pure Nb₂O₅-based electrodes. These results can be attributed to the microstructure design of the synthesized composite material.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.31 no.11
• /
• pp.614-618
• /
• 2021

As the size of market for electric vehicles and energy storage systems grows, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is increasing. Currently, commercial LIBs are fabricated with liquid electrolytes, which have some safety issues such as low chemical stability, which can cause ignition of fire. As a substitute for liquid electrolytes, solid electrolytes are now being extensively studied. However, solid electrolytes have disadvantages of low ionic conductivity and high resistance at interface between electrode and electrolyte. In this study, Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO), one of the best ion conducting materials among oxide based solid electrolytes, is fabricated through RF-sputtering and various electrochemical properties are analyzed. Moreover, the electrochemical properties of LLZO are found to significantly improve with co-sputtered Li₂O. An all-solid thin film battery is fabricated by introducing a thin film solid electrolyte and an Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) cathode; resulting electrochemical properties are also analyzed. The LLZO/Li₂O (60W) sample shows a very good performance in ionic conductivity of 7.3×10^-8 S/cm, with improvement in c-rate and stable cycle performance.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.458-464
• /
• 2021

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is a kind of rechargeable secondary battery, developed from lithium battery, lithium ions move between the positive and negative electrodes to realize the charging and discharging of external circuits. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are porous crystalline materials in which organic imidazole esters are cross-linked to transition metals to form a framework structure. In this article, ZIF-67 is used as a sacrificial template to prepare nano porous carbon (NPC) coated cobalt nanoparticles. The final product Co/NPC composites with complete structure, regular morphology and uniform size were obtained by this method. The conductive network of cobalt and nitrogen doped carbon can shorten the lithium ion transport path and present high conductivity. In addition, amorphous carbon has more pores that can be fully in contact with the electrolyte during charging and discharging. At the same time, it also reduces the volume expansion during the cycle and slows down the rate of capacity attenuation caused by structure collapse. Co/NPC composites first discharge specific capacity up to 3115 mA h/g, under the current density of 200 mA/g, circular 200 reversible capacity as high as 751.1 mA h/g, and the excellent rate and resistance performance. The experimental results show that the Co/NPC composite material improves the electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties of the electrode. The cobalt based ZIF-67 as the precursor has opened the way for the design of highly performance electrodes for energy storage and electrochemical catalysis.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.516-520
• /
• 2023

Highly safe lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are required for large-scale applications such as electrical vehicles and energy storage systems. A highly stable cathode is essential for the development of safe LIBs. LiFePO₄ is one of the most stable cathodes because of its stable structure and strong bonding between P and O. However, it has a lower energy density than lithium transition metal oxides. To investigate the high energy density of phosphate materials, vanadium phosphates were investigated. Vanadium enables multiple redox reactions as well as high redox potentials. LiVPO₄O has two redox reactions (V⁵⁺/V⁴⁺/V³⁺) but low electrochemical activity. In this study, LiVPO₄O is doped with fluorine to improve its electrochemical activity and increase its operational redox potential. With increasing fluorine content in LiVPO₄O_1-xF_x, the local vanadium structure changed as the vanadium oxidation state changed. In addition, the operating potential increased with increasing fluorine content. Thus, it was confirmed that fluorine doping leads to a strong inductive effect and high operating voltage, which helps improve the energy density of the cathode materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2024

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are widely used in various sectors, such as transportation (e.g., electric vehicles (EV)) and energy (e.g., energy storage facilities) due to their high energy density, broad operating temperature (-20 ℃ ~ 60 ℃), and high capacities. LIBs are powerful but fragile on external factors, including pressure, physical damage, overheating, and overcharging, that cause thermal runaway causing fires and explosions. During a LIB fire, a large amount of oxygen is generated from the decomposition of ionogenic materials. A water fire extinguisher that helps with cooling and suffocating must be essentially required at the same time. In fact, however, it is difficult to suppress LIB fires in the case of EVs because a LIB is installed with a battery pack housing that interrupts direct extinguishing by water. Thus, this study aims to investigate effective fire extinguishing measurements for LIB fires by using an EV. Relevant documents, including research articles and reports, were reviewed to identify effective ways of LIBs fire extinguishing. A real-scale fire experiment generating thermal runaway was carried out to figure out the combustion characteristics of EVs. This study revealed that the most effective fire extinguishing measurements for LIB fires are applying fire blankets and water tanks. However, there is still a lack of adequate regulation and guidelines for LIB fire extinguishment. Taking this into account, developing functional fire extinguishment measurements and available regulatory instruments is an urgent issue to secure the safety of firefighters and citizens.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.23-27
• /
• 2024

Bismuth is a promising anodic for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its adequate operating voltage and high-volume capacity (3,765 mAh cm^-3). Nevertheless, inevitable volume expansion during Bi alloy reactions leads to severe capacity loss and cell destruction. To address this, a complex of bismuth alloy nanoparticles (Bi@NC) embedded in an N doping-carbon coating is fabricated via a simple pyrolysis method. Nano-sized bismuth alloys can improve the reaction dynamics through a shortened Li⁺-ion diffusion path. In addition, the N-doped carbon coating effectively buffers the volume change of bismuth during the extended alloy/dealloy reaction with Li⁺ ions and maintains an effective conductive network. Based on the Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed high bismuth alloy loading (80.9 wt%) and maintained a high gravimetric capacity of 315 mAh g^-1 up to 100 cycles with high volumetric capacity of 845.6 mAh cm^-3.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.195-219
• /
• 2020

Today, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are an essential portion of modern daily life. As a promising alternative to traditional energy storage systems, they possess various advantages. This review attempts to provide the reader with an indepth understanding of the working mechanisms, current technological progress, and scientific challenges for a wide variety of lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrode nanomaterials. Electrochemical thermodynamics and kinetics are the two main perspectives underlying our introduction, which aims to provide an informative foundation for the rational design of electrode materials. Moreover, both anode and cathode materials are clarified into several types, using some specific examples to demonstrate both their advantages and shortcomings, and some improvements are suggested as well. In addition, we summarize some recent research progress in the rational design and synthesis of nanostructured anode and cathode materials, together with their corresponding electrochemical performances. Based on all these discussions, potential directions for further development of LIBs are summarized and presented.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2017

In this study, a finite element analysis approach is proposed to predict the fluid-structure interaction behavior of active materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are mainly composed of graphite powder. The porous matrix of graphite powder saturated with fluid electrolyte is considered a representative volume element (RVE) model. Three different RVE models are proposed to consider the uncertainty of the powder shape and the porosity. P-wave modulus from RVE solutions are analyzed based on the microstructure and the interaction between the fluid and the graphite powder matrix. From the results, it is found that the large surface area of the active material results in low mechanical properties of LIB, which leads to poor structural durability when subjected to dynamic loads. The results obtained in this study provide useful information for predicting the mechanical safety of a battery pack.