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Nano-sized transition-metal oxides as negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Nature volume 407, pages 496–499 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Rechargeable solid-state batteries have long been considered an attractive power source for a wide variety of applications, and in particular, lithium-ion batteries are emerging as the technology of choice for portable electronics. One of the main challenges in the design of these batteries is to ensure that the electrodes maintain their integrity over many discharge–recharge cycles. Although promising electrode systems have recently been proposed1,2,3,4,5,6,7, their lifespans are limited by Li-alloying agglomeration8 or the growth of passivation layers9, which prevent the fully reversible insertion of Li ions into the negative electrodes. Here we report that electrodes made of nanoparticles of transition-metal oxides (MO, where M is Co, Ni, Cu or Fe) demonstrate electrochemical capacities of 700 mA h g-1, with 100% capacity retention for up to 100 cycles and high recharging rates. The mechanism of Li reactivity differs from the classical Li insertion/deinsertion or Li-alloying processes, and involves the formation and decomposition of Li2O, accompanying the reduction and oxidation of metal nanoparticles (in the range 1–5 nanometres) respectively. We expect that the use of transition-metal nanoparticles to enhance surface electrochemical reactivity will lead to further improvements in the performance of lithium-ion batteries.

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Figure 1: Properties of MO/Li cells.
Figure 2: In situ X-ray diffraction patterns collected at various states of discharge and charge of a CoO/Li electrochemical cell.
Figure 3: TEM images and SAED patterns of CoO electrodes taken from non-cycled, fully discharged and fully charged cells.
Figure 4: Capacity fading of Cu2O-based electrodes as a function of the particle size.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Baudrin, D. Larcher, M. Morcrette, Y. Chabre, G. Amatucci and C. Masquelier for discussions.

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  1. Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, CNRS UPRES A 6007, 33 rue Saint Leu , Amiens, F-80039, France

    P. Poizot, S. Laruelle, S. Grugeon, L. Dupont & J-M. Tarascon

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  1. P. Poizot
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  2. S. Laruelle
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  3. S. Grugeon
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  4. L. Dupont
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  5. J-M. Tarascon
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Correspondence to J-M. Tarascon.

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Poizot, P., Laruelle, S., Grugeon, S. et al. Nano-sized transition-metal oxides as negative-electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Nature 407, 496–499 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35035045

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