Highlighting the importance of full-cell testing for high performance anode materials comprising Li alloying nanowires

Hugh Geaney, Gerard Bree, Killian Stokes, Kieran McCarthy, Tadhg Kennedy, Kevin M. Ryan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Herein, the electrochemical performance of directly grown Ge nanowire anodes in full-cell Li-ion configurations (using lithium cobalt oxide cathodes) are examined. The impacts of voltage window, anode/cathode balancing and anode preconditioning are assessed. The cells had a useable upper cutoff of 3.9 V, with a higher voltage cutoff of 4.2 V shown by SEM analysis to lead to Li plating on the anode surface. The rate performance of Ge NW anodes was shown to be boosted within full-cells compared to half-cells, meaning that existing studies may underestimate the rate performance of alloying mode anode materials if they are only based on half-cell investigations. The capacity retention of the full-cells is lower compared to equivalent half-cells due to progressive consumption of cyclable Li. This phenomenon is demonstrated using a parallel anode and cathode delithiation approach that could be extended to other full-cell systems. The findings stress the importance of testing promising anode materials within full-cell configurations, to identify specific capacity fade mechanisms that are not relevant to half-cells and aid the development of higher energy density storage systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)A2784-A2790
JournalJournal of the Electrochemical Society
Volume166
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

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