High performance nanostructured anodes for battery applications

Abstract

Nowadays, the fast rising population leads to huge energy demand in every aspect. Increasing electricity demand requires more and more energy. Due to the limited source and the severe environmental problems brought by coal, developing clean, renewable, large quantity and environmental friendly energy resources is necessary. However, efficient energy storage is a must for solar energy and wind power to support the stability and widespread distribution of grid. Therefore, it is necessary to develop rechargeable batteries of high power density, long-life cyclibility, and low cost to meet the energy demand. Lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries are the most promising energy storage candidates for renewable energies to ensure a stable and sustained power supply. In addition, with outstanding battery performance, flexible scale and low maintenance, lithium-ion battery has become dependent energy storage system for portable electronic devices and vehicles. A large amount of academic study and industrial efforts has been devoted to develop new generation of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries to meet the demand of new challenge. In this thesis, basic fundamentals and principles of batteries are introduced. Moreover, the influence of pH value on the Fe2O3 particle sizes and thus the effect of Fe2O3/GO composites on the battery performance were investigated. Besides, different sizes of ZnMn2O4 particles synthesized in four different annealing temperatures were studied with and without GO wrapping for lithium-ion batteries, discovering the GO-wrapped small particles brought high and stable capacity. Finally, SnO2 with carbon composites (including carbon layer and graphene sheets with different functional groups) were explored as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries, which concluded that conductivity of carbon materials should be considered.