Abstract
The rational design of a proper electrode structure with high energy and power densities, long cycling lifespan, and low cost still remains a significant challenge for developing advanced energy storage systems. Germanium is a highly promising anode material for high-performance lithium ion batteries due to its large specific capacity and remarkable rate capability. Nevertheless, poor cycling stability and high price significantly limit its practical application. Herein, a facile and scalable structural engineering strategy is proposed by controlling the nucleation to fabricate a unique hierarchical micro-nanostructured Ge–C framework, featuring high tap density, reduced Ge content, superb structural stability, and a 3D conductive network. The constructed architecture has demonstrated outstanding reversible capacity of 1541.1 mA h g <sup>−1</sup> after 3000 cycles at 1000 mA g <sup>−1</sup> (with 99.6% capacity retention), markedly exceeding all the reported Ge–C electrodes regarding long cycling stability. Notably, the assembled full cell exhibits superior performance as well. The work paves the way to constructing novel metal–carbon materials with high performance and low cost for energy-related applications. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1900081 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Advanced Energy Materials |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 May 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.Funding
S.Z. and Y.Z. contributed equally to this work. Financial support provided by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (FT150100109, DP170102406, and DE190100504), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51802357), Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2018CFB237), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (CZT19003) are gratefully acknowledged. All the authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. The authors thank the Electron Microscopy Centre (EMC) at the University of Wollongong. The authors also thank Guoqiang Zhao, Zhijie Wang, and Sailin Liu for their help with TGA tests and Dr. T. Silver for critical reading of the manuscript.
Research Keywords
- germanium–carbon frameworks
- lithium storage
- mechanism understanding
- micro-nanostructures
- structural engineering
