Alginic acid-derived mesoporous carbon (Starbon®) as template and reducing agent for the hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous LiMn₂O₄ grafted with carbonaceous species

Abstract

An alginic acid-derived mesoporous carbonaceous material (Starbon® A300) was used as a sacrificial porous template providing both a reducing environment and anchoring sites for LMO precursors, KMnO 4 and LiOH. After hydrothermal treatment at 180 C for 24 h, the resulting nanocrystalline LMO particles (z40 nm) spontaneously aggregated, generating a mesoporous structure with a relatively high mesopore volume (z0.33 cm 3 g À1 ) and large pore size (z30 nm). Moreover, a small amount (z0.6 wt%) of residual carbon was present in this mesoporous LMO. This carbon, which arises from carbonaceous species grafted at the surface of the LMO nanoparticles, was found to significantly enhance the rate capability of LMO by reducing the internal electronic resistance. Finally, a "green" LMO electrode formulated using this Starbon-derived LMO as an active material, Starbon® A800 as a conductive additive and sodium alginate as a binder was tested, showing promising electrochemical performance.

Green electrode processing using a seaweed-derived mesoporous carbon additive and binder for LiMn2O4 and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 lithium ion battery electrodes

“…Starbon® materials have been employed as both catalysts 24,25 and catalyst supports, 26,27 as sorbents for pollutant removal, 28,29 and as porous templates for the synthesis of a mesoporous electrode material. 30 Starbon® materials have also recently been used as alternative carbon additives in negative electrodes (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , TiO 2 ) of lithium ion batteries, significantly improving the battery performance compared to conventional carbon black additives 31 as Starbon® materials could provide both a good electronic conductivity and an effective lithium ion pathway through its mesoporous structure.…”

“…Indeed, this has been recently proved by our group, where a mesoporous LMO with or without carbonaceous species grafted on the surface was prepared to discriminate the respective roles of mesoporosity and conductivity. 30 In addition to the porosity and the conductivity of the additives, the intrinsic conductivity of the active materials during charge/discharge could explain the difference of the capacity drop between LMO and NMC at high current densities. Indeed, LMO and NMC have a low conductivity of 10 -5 and 10 -7 S cm -1 in the discharged (lithiated) state, respectively.…”

In Situ Formed Core–Shell LiZnxMn2–xO4@ZnMn2O4 as Cathode for Li-Ion Batteries

“…Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have dominated the energy storage market for electric vehicles (EVs)/hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs) because of their high energy density and good cycling stability. − Spinel LiMn 2 O 4 has been regarded as one of the most promising cathode materials for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries due to its environmental friendliness, low cost, and acceptable energy density. − However, LiMn 2 O 4 presents poor thermostability and capacity deterioration during cycling, especially when it is operated at high voltages (>4.3 V) or elevated temperatures (>55 °C) because of manganese dissolution into the electrolyte and the unfavorable Jahn–Teller distortion. − …”

Dehydration of Alginic Acid Cryogel by TiCl4 vapor: Direct Access to Mesoporous TiO2@C Nanocomposites and Their Performance in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…Metal oxides (M x O y ) and M x O y @C composites are among such materials and many efforts have been devoted to the fine tailoring of hierarchical macro‐ to microporous structures with tailored controlled porosity, doping, particle size, and structure . In this context, biomass polymers such as lignin or polysaccharides as the C‐source or biotemplates have been intensively explored as starting reagents for the processing of nanostructured C, M x O y , and M x O y @C composites for applications in clean and efficient energy production and storage …”

“…[13,14] In this context, biomass polymers such as lignin or polysaccharides as the C-sourceo rb iotemplates have been intensively explored as startingr eagentsf or the processing of nanostructured C, M x O y ,a nd M x O y @C composites for applica-tions in clean and efficient energy productiona nd storage. [11,[15][16][17][18][19] To process the material, atomic layer deposition [20][21][22] or chemicalv apor decomposition [23,24] are not competitive with solution processing,w hich offers better productivity,s afety, and simplicity.S ol-gel, hydrothermal, and solvothermal processes have been extensively,a nd sometimes successfully, used with soluble [starch, alginic acid (AA), lignin] or insoluble (cellulose) biopolymers. [3,[25][26][27] This exemplifies the basic idea of the extreme biomimetic approach, as pecial field in bioinspired materials science, which includes allt ypes of hydrothermal synthesis as well as all the new ways to assemble biotemplates with synthetic material, by in vivoo ri nvitro reactions.…”