Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in the world of electric vehicles. However, a major issue with its use is poor battery life and the potential for slow charging. Recent research indicates that two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are a strong candidate for performance enhancement. Recently, a joint research team from Japan and India demonstrated the efficiency of using 2D titanium diboride nanosheets in lithium-ion batteries. Their findings could have far-reaching implications for electric vehicles and other electronic devices.
As the electric vehicle (EV) industry develops, efforts are being made to research and develop superior lithium-ion (Li) batteries to power these vehicles. The study and expansion of fast charge-discharge technology and the extension of battery life are critical tasks in its development. Several factors, such as lithium ion diffusion, electrode-electrolyte interface characteristics, and electrode porosity, can help overcome these problems, achieving extremely fast charging and ultra-long life.
In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, which are thin lamellar structures a few nanometers thick, have emerged as potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. These nanosheets have a high aspect ratio and high density of active sites for fast charging and excellent cycling. In particular, two-dimensional nanomaterials based on transition metal diborides (or TMDs) piqued the researchers’ interest. TMDs have been found to have high rate and long cycle stability for lithium ion storage due to their honeycomb planes of boron and multivalent transition metals.
Recently, a team of scientists led by Prof. Noriyoshi Matsumi of the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) and Prof. Kabir Jasuja of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar began to further explore the potential of TMD. for energy. storage. The team performed the first experimental study of the potential for storage hierarchical nanosheets (THNS) based on titanium diboride (TiB2) as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The group included Rajashekar Badam, former JAIST Senior Lecturer; Akash Varma, former M.S. Student of a course at JAIST; Koichi Higashimine, JAIST technician, and Asha Lisa James, Ph.D. Student at IIT Gandhinagar. Their study was published in ACS Applied Nano Materials and is available online September 19, 2022.
THNS were obtained by oxidizing TiB2 powder with hydrogen peroxide, followed by centrifugation and lyophilization of the solution. “What our work highlights is the scalability of the method developed to synthesize these TiB2 nanosheets. To transform any nanomaterial into a tangible technology, scalability is the limiting factor. Our synthesis method requires only mixing and does not require sophisticated equipment. explaining the dissolution and recrystallization behavior of TiB2, an accidental discovery that makes this work a promising bridge from the laboratory to the field”, explains Prof. Kabir.
The team then built an anode lithium-ion half-cell using THNS as the active anode material. The team studied the charge storage characteristics of THNS-based anodes.
The team found that the THNS-based anode exhibited a high discharge capacity of 380 mAh/g with a current density of only 0.025 A/g. Furthermore, they found that a discharge capacity of 174 mAh/g can be obtained with a high current density of 1 A/g, a charging time of 10 minutes, and a capacity retention of 89.7% after 1,000 cycles. Furthermore, the THNS lithium-ion anode can withstand very high currents, in the order of 15-20 A/g, providing ultra-fast charging in about 9-14 seconds. At high current, over 80% capacity retention was observed after 10,000 cycles.
The results of this study indicate the suitability of 2D TiB2 nanosheets as candidates for long-lasting, fast-charging lithium-ion batteries. They also highlight the advantage of nanoscale bulk materials, such as TiB2, in achieving promising properties, including pseudocapacitive charge storage, excellent high-speed capability, and excellent cyclability. Explaining the potential long-term implications of his research, Professor Matsumi says: “This fast-charging technology can speed up the spread of electric vehicles and significantly reduce the waiting time for charging various mobile electronic devices. We hope that our results can