High performance germanium nanowire based lithium-ion battery anodes extending over 1000 cycles through in-situ formation of a continuous porous network

Kennedy, Tadhg; Mullane, Emma; Geany, Hugh; Osiak, Michal J.; O'Dwyer, Colm; Ryan, Kevin M.

High performance germanium nanowire based lithium-ion battery anodes extending over 1000 cycles through in-situ formation of a continuous porous network

Files

NL_revised.pdf(5.28 MB)

Accepted version

Date

2014-01-13

Authors

Kennedy, Tadhg

Mullane, Emma

Geany, Hugh

Osiak, Michal J.

O'Dwyer, Colm

Ryan, Kevin M.

Publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Published Version

10.1021/nl403979s

Abstract

Here we report the formation of high-performance and high-capacity lithium-ion battery anodes from high-density germanium nanowire arrays grown directly from the current collector. The anodes retain capacities of ∼900 mAh/g after 1100 cycles with excellent rate performance characteristics, even at very high discharge rates of 20–100C. We show by an ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy study that this performance can be attributed to the complete restructuring of the nanowires that occurs within the first 100 cycles to form a continuous porous network that is mechanically robust. Once formed, this restructured anode retains a remarkably stable capacity with a drop of only 0.01% per cycle thereafter. As this approach encompasses a low energy processing method where all the material is electrochemically active and binder free, the extended cycle life and rate performance characteristics demonstrated makes these anodes highly attractive for the most demanding lithium-ion applications such as long-range battery electric vehicles.

Keywords

Germanium nanowires , Lithium-ion battery , Network , Porous , Rate capability , Tin seed

Citation

Kennedy, T., Mullane, E., Geaney, H., Osiak, M., O’Dwyer, C. and Ryan, K. M. (2014) 'High-Performance Germanium Nanowire-Based Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes Extending over 1000 Cycles Through in Situ Formation of a Continuous Porous Network', Nano Letters, 14(2), pp. 716-723. doi: 10.1021/nl403979s

Copyright

© 2014 American Chemical Society. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Nano Letters, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl403979s

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