LiCo1−yMyO2 positive electrodes for rechargeable lithium batteries: II. Nickel substituted materials grown by the citrate method

[Abstract] The layered LiCo1−yNiyO2 microcrystalline powders were synthesized by a sol–gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent in the range 0.2 ≤ y ≤ 0.8. Submicron-sized particles of the precursor were obtained at temperature below 400 °C and microcrystalline powders were grown by thermal treatment at 700 °C for 5 h in air. The carboxylic-based acid functioned such as a fuel, decomposed the homogeneous precipitate of metal complexes at low temperature, and yielded the free impurity LiCo1−yNiyO2 single-phases suitable for electrochemical applications. The synthesized products were characterized by structural, spectroscopic and thermal analyses. FT-IR measurements provide information on the growth process and the final local environment in the cationic sublattice of LiCo1−yNiyO2 solid solution. The electrochemical performance of the synthesized products in rechargeable Li cells was evaluated using non-aqueous solution 1 M LiPF6 in EC-DMC as electrolyte. The electrochemical features of a series of LiCo1−yNiyO2 compounds (0.2 ≤ y ≤ 1.0) are discussed in relation with their synthesis procedure and substitutive amount. The substitution of Ni3+ for Co3+ in LiCo1−yNiyO2 for y = 0.75 shows improvement of the specific capacity at ca. 187 mAh/g upon 32 cycles

Interface modification of clay and graphene platelets reinforced epoxy nanocomposites: a comparative study

The interface between the matrix phase and dispersed phase of a composite plays a critical role in influencing its properties. However, the intricate mecha-nisms of interface are not fully understood, and polymer nanocomposites are no exception. This study compares the fabrication, morphology, and mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy nanocomposites tuned by clay layers (denoted as m-clay) and graphene platelets (denoted as m-GP). It was found that a chemical modification, layer expansion and dispersion of filler within the epoxy matrix resulted in an improved interface between the filler mate-rial and epoxy matrix. This was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope. The enhanced interface led to improved mechanical properties (i.e. stiffness modulus, fracture toughness) and higher glass transition temperatures (Tg) compared with neat epoxy. At 4 wt% m-GP, the critical strain energy release rate G1c of neat epoxy improved by 240 % from 179.1 to 608.6 J/m2 and Tg increased from 93.7 to 106.4 �C. In contrast to m-clay, which at 4 wt%, only improved the G1c by 45 % and Tg by 7.1 %. The higher level of improvement offered by m-GP is attributed to the strong interaction of graphene sheets with epoxy because the covalent bonds between the carbon atoms of graphene sheets are much stronger than silicon-based clay

A vanadium oxy-phosphate Na 4 VO(PO 4 ) 2 as cathode material for Na ion batteries

International audienc

A vanadium oxy-phosphate Na 4 VO(PO 4 ) 2 as cathode material for Na ion batteries

International audienceThe Na4VO(PO4)2 phase has been synthesized using a solid state route in sealed tubes. This phase crystallizing in the orthorhombic system has a one-dimensional structure built up of corner shared VO6 and PO4 polyhedra. It is an ionic conductor with a conductivity of 10−4S/cm at 500 K and an activation energy of 0.63eV. The electrochemical properties of Na4VO(PO4)2 as a positive electrode in a sodium ion battery have been studied. Results show the possibility of extracting almost one sodium through a two-phase process at 3.4 V leading to the phase Na3.2VO(PO4)2 and to insert as well one sodium at low potential 1.5 V, to form through a solid solution process the reduced phase Na5VO(PO4)2. This study is a proof of the great versatility of vanadium V3+/V4+/V5+ ions in Na-based batteries