Atomic Interface Engineering and Electric-Field Effect in Ultrathin Bi2MoO6 Nanosheets for Superior Lithium Ion Storage

Bismuth electrode makes better battery

21 November 2017

An atomic scale bismuth electrode could enhance the power and durability of ultrathin lithium-ion batteries.

Future electronics will demand ever thinner batteries with longer lives, but electrodes are reaching their performance limit. A team led by researchers from the University of Wollongong stacked alternating atom-thick layers of bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₂) and a molybdate(MoO₄) crystals in a chemical solution to create an ultrathin Bi₂MoO₆ (BMO) nanosheet.

They used the BMO sheet as an electrode in a lithium-ion battery and found that it carried a high initial charge that dropped by just 12.5 per cent after 1,000 cycles. The authors attribute the excellent charge transfer to the strong electric field within the BMO crystal and the extra charge carrying channels on the open surfaces.

Building atomic scale electrodes like this could lead to more high-performance batteries for wearable electronics.

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References

1. Advanced Materials 26, 1700396 (2017). doi: 10.1002/adma.201700396