Carsten Schwandt

Abstract:

Secondary Li ion batteries have become an indispensable source of energy for portable appliances and they are presently establishing themselves as the energy source of choice for electric vehicles. While lithium ion batteries have matured and are produced at an industrial scale, they continue to suffer from a range of shortcomings, one of which is the comparatively low energy and power densities of the anode (negative electrode) materials presently in use.
This contribution will present routes towards the preparation of new anode materials with higher capacities than the current ones. The strict overriding premise in the experimental approaches has been to exclusively employ earth-abundant commodity reactants and known-to-be-scalable processes. Two such approaches will be highlighted. One is based on the anodic decomposition of graphite in a molten LiCl/SnCl₂ electrolyte, resulting in the formation of Sn-filled nanocarbons [1-4]. The other is based on the cathodic deoxidation of SiO₂/C in a molten CaCl₂ electrolyte, yielding nano-structured SiC [5,6]. The synthesis methods will be described and the products characterised in detail. Advantages and limitations of the approaches will be discussed.