• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.4059-4062
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• 2012

The effect of a conductive agent on the structural and electrochemical properties of $Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$(LTO) spinel was investigated through neutron diffraction during Li intercalation and electrochemical measurements. The charging process of LTO is known as transformation of the white $(Li_3)_{8a}[LiTi_5]_{16d}O_{12}$ into a dark-colored $(Li_{3-X})_{8a}[Li_{X+Y}]_{16c}[LiTi_5]_{16d}O_{12}$ by incorporating the inserted Li into octahedral 16c sites, and the Li in tetrahedral 8a sites shifted to 16c sites. The occupancy of the tetrahedral 8a site varied with the existence of carbon in the electrode. Without carbon, the lattice parameter and cell volume of LTO decreased more notably than in the carbon-containing LTO electrode during Li insertion process. These phenomena might be attributed that the Li occupancy of the tetrahedral 8a of the LTO electrode without carbon was less than that of the carbon-containing LTO electrode.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.79-87
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• 2012

With the increasing size and universalization of lithium-ion batteries, the development of cathode materials has emerged as a critical issue. The energy density of 18650 cylindrical batteries had more than doubled from 230 Wh/l in 1991 to 500 Wh/l in 2005. The energy capacity of most products ranges from 450 to 500Wh/l or from 150 to 190 Wh/kg. Product developments are focusing on high capacity, safety, saved production cost, and long life. As Co is expensive among the cathode active materials $LiCoO_2$, to increase energy capacity while decreasing the use of Co, composites such as $LiMn_2O_4$, $LiCo_{1/3}N_{i1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$, $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.15}Al_{0.05}O_2$, and $LiFePO_4$-C (167 mA/g) are being developed. Furthermore, many studies are being conducted to improve the performance of battery materials to meet the requirement of large capacity output density such as 500Wh/kg for electric bicycles, 1,500Wh/kg for electric tools, and 4,000~5,000Wh/kg for EV and PHEV. As new cathodes active materials with high energy capacity such as graphene-sulfur composite cathode materials with 600 Ah/kg and the molecular cluster for secondary battery with 320 Ah/kg are being developed these days, their commercializations are highly anticipated.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-182
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• 2012

Mesoporous anatase $TiO_2$ nanoparticles have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method using a tri-block copolymer as a soft template. The resulting $TiO_2$ materials have a high specific surface area of $230\;m^2/g$, a predominant pore size of 6.8 nm and a pore volume of 0.404 mL/g. The electrochemical properties of mesoporous anatase $TiO_2$ for lithium ion battery (LIB) anode materials have been investigated by typical coin cell tests. The initial discharge capacity of these materials is 240 mAh/g, significantly higher than the theoretical capacity (175 mAh/g) of LTO ($Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$). Although the discharge capacity decreases with the C-rate increase, the mesoporous $TiO_2$ is very promising for LIB anode because the surface for the Li insertion is presented significantly with mesopores. Nitrogen doping has a certain effect to control the capacity decrease by improving the electron transport in $TiO_2$ framework.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2010

Porous poly(propylene) supported gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) were synthesized by thermal polymerization of DEGDMA [Di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate] in electrolyte solutions (1 M solution of $LiPF_6$ in EC/DEC 1 : 1 mixture) at $70^{\circ}C$. AC impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to evaluate its ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability window of the GPE membranes. Lithium ion battery (LIB) cells were also fabricated with $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2$/graphite and GPE membranes via thermal polymerization process. Through the thermal polymerization, self sustaining GPE membranes with sufficient ionic conductivities (over $10^{-3}\;S/cm$) and electrochemical stabilities. The LIB cell with 5% monomer showed the best rate-capability and cycleability.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.774-780
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• 2019

The performance of Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors (asymmetric-type) depends on many factors such as the capacity ratio, material properties, cell designs and operating conditions. Among these, in consideration of balanced electrochemical reactions, the capacity ratio of the negative (anode) to positive (cathode) electrode is one of the most important factors to design the Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors for high energy storing performance. We assemble Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors using activated carbon (AC) as anode material, lithium manganese oxide as cathode material, and organic electrolyte (1 mol L^-1 LiPF₆ in acetonitrile). At this point, the thickness of the anode electrode is controlled at 160, 200, and 240 ㎛. Also, thickness of cathode electrode is fixed at 60 ㎛. Then, the effect of negative and positive electrode ratio on the electrochemical performance of AC/LiMn₂O₄ Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors is investigated, especially in the terms of capacity and cyclability at high current density. In this study, we demonstrate the relationship of capacity ratio between anode and cathode electrode, and the excellent electrochemical performance of AC/LiMn₂O₄ Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors. The remarkable capability of these materials proves that manipulation of the capacity ratio is a promising technology for high-performance Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.27-33
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• 2017

Conventional lithium ion batteries suffer from notorious safety issues caused by inevitable lithium dendrite formation and proliferation during over/fast charging processes. The lithium dendrites or mechanical damage on the separator induce internal short circuit in LiB that generates extensive amount of heat within contacted electrode surfaces through the separator. During this heat generation, conventional polyolefin separators shrinks dramatically, and increasing short circuit pathway, that causes the battery to explode. To overcome this serious issue, ceramic coated separators are developed in commercial LiB to enhance thermal and mechanical stability. In this paper, various size(IL = 488.5 nm, I = 538.7 nm, S = 810.3 nm, D = 1533.3 nm) of $Al_2O_3$ particles are coated using styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR) / carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC) binder on PE separator to investigate its thermal stability and electrochemical effect on LiB coin cell with NCM cathode and Li metal anode.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.2 s.285
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• pp.121-125
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• 2006

[ $LiFePO_4$ ] is one of the promising materials for cathode material of secondary lithium batteries due to its high energy density, low cost, environmental friendliness and safety. $LiFePO_4$ was synthesized by the solid-state reaction method at 500 - 800°C. The crystal structure of $LiFePO_4$ was analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction. The samples synthesized at 600 and $700^{\circ}C$ showed a single phase of a olivine structure. The particle sizes were increased and the specific surface areas were decreased with heating temperatures. The electrochemical performance was investigated by coin cell test. The discharge capacities at 0.1 C-rate were 118 mAh/g and 112 mAh/g at $600^{\circ}C,\;700^{\circ}C$, respectively. In an attempt to improve the electrical conductivity of cathode materials, $LiFePO_4/graphite$ composite was prepared with various graphite contents. The electrical conductivity and discharge capacity were increased with increasing the graphite contents in composite samples. The rate capabilities at high current densities were also improved.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2012

Recently lithium ion secondary batteries (LIB) have rapidly developed because of their advantages such as high energy densities and capacities. Among them, an electrical vehicle which is the one of the environmental-friendly transportation facilities has been received a great attention, but, it is needed to overcome several obstacles of the LIB performances. LIB is practically adapted to Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), but the issues for high capacities, long life time and safety should be solved. Moreover, LIBs still have some possibilities of explosion in the case of overheating of the used organic electrolyte and overcharging of the cell. Hence, it is urgently needed to replace the liquid electrolytes into the solid electrolytes due to the safety issues. Therefore, in this review, we summarized and discussed the research trends of the solid electrolyte to solve the concerns of safety and capacity of LIBs and published patents and articles.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.459-464
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• 2016

In this study, the electrochemical characteristics of porous silicon/carbon composite anode were investigated to improve the cycle stability and rate performance in lithium ion batteries. In this study, the effect of TEOS and $NH_3$ concentration, mixing speed and temperature on particle size of nano silica was investigated using $St{\ddot{o}}ber$ method. Nano porous Si/C composites were prepared by the fabrication processes including the synthesis of nano $SiO_2$, magnesiothermic reduction of nano $SiO_2$ to obtain nano porous Si by HCl etching, and carbonization of phenolic resin. Also the electrochemical performances of nano porous Si/C composites as the anode were performed by constant current charge/discharge test, cyclic voltammetry and impedance tests in the electrolyte of $LiPF_6$ dissolved inorganic solvents (EC:DMC:EMC=1:1:1vol%). It is found that the coin cell using nano porous Si/C composite has the capacity of 2,006 mAh/g and the capacity retention ratio was 55.4% after 40 cycle.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.136-142
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• 2016

As precursors of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries, $Ni_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}(OH)_2$ powders are prepared in a continuously stirred tank reactor via a co-precipitation reaction between aqueous metal sulfates and NaOH in the presence of $NH_4OH$ in air or nitrogen ambient. Calcination of the precursors with $Li_2CO_3$ for 8 h at $1,000^{\circ}C$ in air produces dense spherical cathode materials. The precursors and final powders are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis, tap density measurement, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The precursor powders obtained in air or nitrogen ambient show XRD patterns identified as $Ni_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}(OH)_2$. Regardless of the atmosphere, the final powders exhibit the XRD patterns of $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ (NCM). The precursor powders obtained in air have larger particle size and lower tap density than those obtained in nitrogen ambient. NCM powders show similar tendencies in terms of particle size and tap density. Electrochemical characterization is performed after fabricating a coin cell using NCM as the cathode and Li metal as the anode. The NCM powders from the precursors obtained in air and those from the precursors obtained in nitrogen have similar initial charge/discharge capacities and cycle life. In conclusion, the powders co-precipitated in air can be utilized as precursor materials, replacing those synthesized in the presence of nitrogen injection, which is the usual industrial practice.