Electrode Materials for Rechargeable Batteries


Rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion battery (LIB), sodium-ion battery (NIB), lithium-sulfur battery (LSB) and so on, are considered to be one of the most ideal green energy storage and conversion devices. Owning to the high energy density, low self-discharge rate and long cycling lifetime, rechargeable LIBs have widely been used for small-scale (i.e. portable electronic devices) and large-scale applications (i.e. electric vehicles). In order to meet the increasing demand of high power applications, our research team spends extensive efforts on developing alternative high-performance electrode (cathode and anode) materials by different synthesis methods (e.g., ultrasonic dispersion, hydrothermal method, co-precipitation, in situ graft copolymerization, spray-drying method etc.), material compositions and configurations.


For the cathode materials, we mainly focus on Li-rich layered cathode materials because of their high practical capacity, high operating voltage, low cost, environmental benignity and safety. Different configurations with the corresponding synthesis methods are studied to develop the high-performance cathode materials.


Selected Publications:
Ma, S., Hou, X., Huang, Y., Li, C., Hu, S., Lam, K.H.Ceramics International, Vol.42, pp.4899–4910 (2016)
Tian, M., Zhou, L., Wu, H., Jiang, N., Zheng, Q., Xu, C., Lam, K.H.* et al. Ceramics International, Vol.42, pp.16916–16926 (2016) 

Huang, Y., Hou, X., Fan, X., Ma, S., Hu, S., Lam, K.H. Electrochimica Acta, Vol.182, pp.1175–1187 (2015)


















The formation mechanism of the GNL (graphene and carbon nanotubes)-modified LMNCO.
















Electrochemical performance of the GNL-modified LMNCO cycled between 2.00 V and 4.65 V at 25 degree Celsius.



Similar to the work of cathode materials, various high-performance anode materials are developed using the corresponding synthesis methods. We mainly focus on transition metal oxide (ZnFe2O4, Fe3O4, Co3O4, etc.) materials. Their performance is enhanced by using different carbon coating materials, configurations, and dopants. 


Selected Publications:

Zhang, W., Hou, X., Shen, J., Hu, S., Ru, Q., Lam, K.H.Electrochimica Acta, Vol.188, pp.734–743 (2016)
Mao, J., Hou, X., Huang, F., Shen, K., Lam, K.H., et al. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol.676, pp.265–274 (2016)
Wang, X., Hou, X., Mao, J., Gao, Y., Ru, Q., Hu, S., Lam, K.H. Journal of Materials Science, Vol.51, pp.5843–5856 (2016)


















Simplified synthesis processes of Fe3O4, CA-Fe3O4@C and PSA-Fe3O4@C.

 

 


 







 















 First galvanostatic cycle plots, cycle performance and rate capability of the Ni1xZnxFe2O4 electrode.

 

K. H. (Koko) LAM Research group

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