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Hierarchical 3D electrodes for electrochemical energy storage

Nature Reviews Materials volume 4, pages 45–60 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

The discovery and development of electrode materials promise superior energy or power density. However, good performance is typically achieved only in ultrathin electrodes with low mass loadings (≤1 mg cm−2) and is difficult to realize in commercial electrodes with higher mass loadings (>10 mg cm−2). To realize the full potential of these electrode materials, new electrode architectures are required that can allow more efficient charge transport beyond the limits of traditional electrodes. In this Review, we summarize the design and synthesis of 3D electrodes to address charge transport limitations in thick electrodes. Specifically, we discuss the role of charge transport in electrochemical systems and focus on the design of 3D porous structures with a continuous conductive network for electron transport and a fully interconnected hierarchical porosity for ion transport. We also discuss the application of 3D porous architectures as conductive scaffolds for various electrode materials to enable composite electrodes with an unprecedented combination of energy and power densities and then conclude with a perspective on future opportunities and challenges.

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Fig. 1: Electrochemical energy storage technologies.
Fig. 2: The role of areal mass loading and structure in battery electrodes.
Fig. 3: Manufacturing of various 3D carbon architectures.
Fig. 4: Electrochemical characterization of 3D electrodes.
Fig. 5: 3D hierarchically porous carbon scaffolds for electrochemical energy storage systems.
Fig. 6: The effect of mass loading on electrochemical characterization of Nb2O5/HGF composite electrodes.
Fig. 7: The use of biological materials as templates to fabricate 3D hierarchically porous architectures for energy storage systems.
Fig. 8: A 3D tri-continuous nanolayer battery.

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Acknowledgements

X.D. acknowledges the partial financial support from the National Science Foundation DMR1508144. Y.H. acknowledges the financial support from the National Science Foundation EFRI-1433541. H.S. and I.S. thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for its funding of this research through grant PEJP-17-01. J.Z. acknowledges the Fundamental Research Funds of the Central Universities (no. 531107051078) and the Double First-Class University Initiative of Hunan University (no. 531109100004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hongtao Sun, Daniel Baumann, Lele Peng & Xiangfeng Duan

  2. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA

    Hongtao Sun

  3. Hunan Key Laboratory of Two-Dimensional Materials and State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China

    Jian Zhu

  4. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Yuxi Xu

  5. Sustainable Energy Technologies Centre, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Imran Shakir

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Yu Huang

  7. California Nanosystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Yu Huang & Xiangfeng Duan

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  1. Hongtao Sun
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X.D., H.S. and J.Z. co-wrote the article. H.S. and J.Z. researched data for the article. All authors made substantial contributions to the discussion of the content and reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission.

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Correspondence to Xiangfeng Duan.

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Sun, H., Zhu, J., Baumann, D. et al. Hierarchical 3D electrodes for electrochemical energy storage. Nat Rev Mater 4, 45–60 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-018-0069-9

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