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High Performance Particle/Polymer Nanofiber Anodes for Li‐ion Batteries using Electrospinning
Author(s) -
Self Ethan C.,
McRen Emily C.,
Pintauro Peter N.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201501393
Subject(s) - nanofiber , anode , electrospinning , materials science , electrolyte , chemical engineering , carbon nanofiber , polymer , nanoparticle , composite material , electrode , graphite , nanotechnology , carbon nanotube , chemistry , engineering
Electrospun nanofiber mats containing carbon nanoparticles in a poly(vinylidene fluoride) binder were prepared and characterized as Li‐ion battery anodes. The mats exhibited an initial capacity of 161 mAh g −1 with 91.7 % capacity retention after 510 cycles at 0.1 C (1 C =372 mA g carbon −1 ). Whereas many nanoscale electrodes are limited to low areal and/or volumetric capacities, the particle/polymer nanofiber anodes can be made thick with a high fiber volume fraction while maintaining good rate capabilities. Thus, a nanofiber anode with a fiber volume fraction of 0.79 exhibits a volumetric capacity of 55 mAh cm −3 at 2 C , which is twice that of a typical graphite anode. Similarly, thick nanofiber mats with a high areal capacity of 4.3 mAh cm −2 were prepared and characterized. The excellent performance of electrospun anodes is attributed to electrolyte intrusion throughout the interfiber void space and efficient Li + transport between the electrolyte and carbon nanoparticles in the radial fiber direction.