Pseudocapacitive Lithium Storage of Cauliflower‐Like CoFe₂O₄ for Low‐Temperature Battery Operation

Abstract

Binary transition‐metal oxides (BTMOs) with hierarchical micro–nano‐structures have attracted great interest as potential anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report the fabrication of hierarchical cauliflower‐like CoFe2O4 (cl‐CoFe2O4) via a facile room‐temperature co‐precipitation method followed by post‐synthetic annealing. The obtained cauliflower structure is constructed by the assembly of microrods, which themselves are composed of small nanoparticles. Such hierarchical micro–nano‐structure can promote fast ion transport and stable electrode–electrolyte interfaces. As a result, the cl‐CoFe2O4 can deliver a high specific capacity (1019.9 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), excellent rate capability (626.0 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1), and good cyclability (675.4 mAh g−1 at 4 A g−1 for over 400 cycles) as an anode material for LIBs. Even at low temperatures of 0 °C and −25 °C, the cl‐CoFe2O4 anode can deliver high capacities of 907.5 and 664.5 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, respectively, indicating its wide operating temperature. More importantly, the full‐cell assembled with a commercial LiFePO4 cathode exhibits a high rate performance (214.2 mAh g−1 at 5000 mA g−1) and an impressive cycling performance (612.7 mAh g−1 over 140 cycles at 300 mA g−1) in the voltage range of 0.5–3.6 V. Kinetic analysis reveals that the electrochemical performance of cl‐CoFe2O4 is dominated by pseudocapacitive behavior, leading to fast Li+ insertion/extraction and good cycling life.

Solventless synthesis of nanospinel Ni1−xCoxFe2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) solid solutions for efficient electrochemical water splitting and supercapacitance

“…[10][11][12][13][14][15] Spinel ferrites, such as NiFe 2 O 4 and CoFe 2 O 4 , are composed of inexpensive, environmentally benign and easily accessible materials. [16][17][18] Studies have indicated their applicability as electrode material in supercapacitors 19,20 and lithiumion batteries, 21,22 as well as catalysts for electrochemical water splitting. 23,24 Their electrochemical performance is ascribed to the presence of electrochemically active multivalent cations of Ni 3+ /Ni 2+ , Co 3+ /Co 2+ and Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ .…”

Lithium-ion batteries for low-temperature applications: Limiting factors and solutions

“…Therefore, recent works focused on improving the pseudocapacitive properties of anode materials by controlling the morphology or surface defects and introducing the additional surface-controlled energy storage mechanism [45,73,81]. Such pseudocapacitive behavior can significantly improve the lithium storage capacity, cycling stability, and rate capability of anode materials at low temperatures [45,76,80]. Furthermore, control of the morphology and structure is admitted to comprehensively address the main LT limitations of the anode materials by affecting the conductivity of electrons, pathlength of the Li + , and contact area of the electrode with electrolyte, thus number of electrochemically active sites [28,57,58,63,64,68].…”

Construction of Quaternary Chalcogenide Ag2BaSnS4 Nanograins for HER/OER Performances and Supercapacitor Applications in Alkaline Media

“…Both NiFe 2 O 4 and CoFe 2 O 4 , two common types of transition metal chalcogens, may be synthesized from abundant, cheap, and nonhazardous materials. , Supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and electrochemical water splitting, all employ these materials as electrode components, according to recent research. , This is because they include electrochemically active multivalent cations, such as Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ , Ni 3+ /Ni 2+ , and Co 3+ /Co 2+ . Despite their many potential benefits, chalcogens are mostly used in supercapacitors and water splitting.…”