In situ metal organic framework (ZIF-8) and mechanofusion-assisted MWCNT coating of LiFePO/C composite material for lithium-ion batteries

LiFePO4 is one of the industrial, scalable cathode materials in lithium-ion battery production, due to its cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness. However, the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 in high current rate operation is still limited, due to its poor ionic- and electron-conductive properties. In this study, a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) modified LiFePO4/C (LFP) composite cathode materials were developed and investigated in detail. The ZIF-8 and MWCNT can be used as ionic- and electron-conductive materials, respectively. The surface modification of LFP by ZIF-8 and MWCNT was carried out through in situ wet chemical and mechanical alloy coating. The as-synthesized materials were scrutinized via various characterization methods, such as XRD, SEM, EDX, etc., to determine the material microstructure, morphology, phase, chemical composition, etc. The uniform and stable spherical morphology of LFP composites was obtained when the ZIF-8 coating was processed by the agitator [A], instead of the magnetic stirrer [MS], condition. It was found that the (optimum of) 2 wt.% ZIF-8@LFP [A]/MWCNT composite cathode material exhibited outstanding improvement in high-rate performance; it maintained the discharge capacities of 125 mAh g−1 at 1C, 110 mAh g−1 at 3C, 103 mAh g−1 at 5C, and 91 mAh g−1 at 10C. Better cycling stability with capacity retention of 75.82% at 1C for 100 cycles, as compared to other electrodes prepared in this study, was also revealed. These excellent results were mainly obtained because of the improvement of lithium-ion transport properties, less polarization effect, and interfacial impedance of the LFP composite cathode materials derived from the synergistic effect of both ZIF-8 and MWCNT coating materials

MoO3 nanoparticle coatings on high-voltage 5 V LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode materials for improving lithium-ion battery performance

To reduce surface contamination and increase battery life, MoO3 nanoparticles were coated with a high-voltage (5 V) LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode material by in-situ method during the high-temperature annealing process. To avoid charging by more than 5 V, we also developed a system based on anode-limited full-cell with a negative/positive electrode (N/P) ratio of 0.9. The pristine LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 was initially prepared by high-energy ball-mill with a solid-state reaction, followed by a precipitation reaction with a molybdenum precursor for the MoO3 coating. The typical structural and electrochemical behaviors of the materials were clearly investigated and reported. The results revealed that a sample of 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode exhibited an optimal electrochemical activity, indicating that the MoO3 nanoparticle coating layers considerably enhanced the high-rate charge–discharge profiles and cycle life performance of LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 with a negligible capacity decay. The 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode could achieve high specific discharge capacities of 131 and 124 mAh g−1 at the rates of 1 and 10 C, respectively. In particular, the 2 wt.% MoO3-coated LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 electrode retained its specific capacity (87 mAh g−1) of 80.1% after 500 cycles at a rate of 10 C. The Li4 Ti5 O12 /LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 full cell based on the electrochemical-cell (EL-cell) configuration was successfully assembled and tested, exhibiting excellent cycling retention of 93.4% at a 1 C rate for 100 cycles. The results suggest that the MoO3 nano-coating layer could effectively reduce side reactions at the interface of the LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 cathode and the electrolyte, thus improving the electrochemical performance of the battery system

Effect of single-walled carbon nanotube sub-carbon additives and graphene oxide coating for enhancing the 5 V LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode material performance in lithium-ion batteries

High-voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) is a promising cathode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but its poor cycle performance has impeded its commercialization. In this study, we developed highly stable LNMO cathode materials having an octahedral morphology through a solid-state high-energy ball-mill–cum–spray-drying method. We also developed a novel strategy for modifying this cathode material with two kinds of carbon materials, thereby improving the electrochemical cycling performance. Introducing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as a sub-carbon conductive additive during the slurry preparation process improved the conductivity of electrons between the particles of the cathode material. The LNMO electrode modified with the SWCNT sub-carbon additives exhibited an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.4% after 500 cycles at 1C, compared with 98.9% for the pristine LNMO-based electrode. Furthermore, we used a wet-chemical method to coat graphene oxide (GO) onto the post-sintered LNMO cathode material to act as a protective layer, preventing corrosion induced by HF in the electrolyte. The capacity retention of the GO-coated LNMO electrode after 500 cycles at 1C (91.8%) was higher than that of the pristine LNMO (52.5%). The corresponding dual-modification strategy, combining the SWCNTs and GO, provided LNMO cathode materials exhibiting superior rate performance and cyclability, with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.3% and capacity retention of 92.9% after 500 cycles at 1C. Thus, the LNMO cathode materials prepared in this study possessed excellent electrochemical properties favoring their marketability, applicability, and competitiveness for application in high-voltage LIBs

Comparison Study of Dynamic Elastic Moduli of Cement Mortar and No-cement Slag Based Cementitious Mortar Activated with Calcined Dolomite with Impulse Excitation Technique

This paper presents the comparison of an experimental investigation on compressive strength and dynamic elastic moduli of mortars made of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) incorporating with calcined dolomite. Dolomite powder calcined at temperature 900°C emerged as a GGBFS activator for producing cementitious mortar binder. In this study, no-cement mortar is made by activating GGBFS with calcined dolomite by a fixed amount of 20 wt%. The compressive strengths and dynamic elastic moduli were measured at 7 and 28 days. Comparing with cement mortar, the compressive strength of no-cement mortar was found about 54.4 and 46.9% lower at ages of 7 and 28 days, respectively. Non-destructive evaluation of the dynamic elastic moduli was investigated by impulse excitation technique (IET). It measures the resonant frequencies of induced vibration signal in the flexural and torsional mode for determining the dynamic Young's modulus and the dynamic shear modulus. The Poisson's ratio was calculated by the dynamic Young's modulus and the dynamic shear modulus relationship. The results showed that the 28-day dynamic Young's and shear moduli of cement mortar were 31.91 and 14.43 GPa, respectively. The dynamic Young's and shear moduli of no-cement mortar were lower by 23.3 and 15.2% than that of cement mortar at the age of 28 days. The obtained results showed that the 28-day Poisson's ratio of no-cement mortar had a wider range between 0.177 and 0.209 than that of cement mortar which ranged from 0.180 to 0.185

Life cycle guideline of petrochemical plant underground piping system

According to statistics of petrochemical plant disaster, the type of underground pipeline leakage is the highest proportion, for example, Kaohsiung gas explosion in 2014 is a typical case. Therefore, improvement strategy of petrochemical plant underground piping system from both engineering and management becomes an important issue. Through reviewing regulations as well as surveying questionnaire, including kinds of piping materials, 3D drawing files, operation procedures, information sharing, etc., the findings show lack contact of integrated management with engineering executive and insufficient technical requirements are major defects. Overviewing current problems of domestic petrochemical plant underground piping system management, and comparing to international criteria and specifications, this research focuses on the of piping design, construction, operations, maintenance, and inspection. Then management procedures and engineering technical feasibility strategies are suggested. In addition, the proposed life cycle guideline in order to reduce the disaster incidence of petrochemical plant underground pipelines

Suppressed Volume Change of a Spray-Dried 3D Spherical-like Si/Graphite Composite Anode for High-Rate and Long-Term Lithium-Ion Batteries

Morphology plays a vital role in controlling the volume variation in Si-based anode materials and enhances lithium-ion battery performances. Here, we demonstrated advanced techniques that combine electrostatic self-assembly and spray-drying methods to form 3D spherical-like silicon/graphite (denoted “Si/G”) composite anode materials. This spherical morphology alleviates issues relating to silicon volume changes that occur in high-rate lithium-ion batteries. Commercial graphite (G) flakes were initially mixed with silicon nanoparticles (ca. 50 nm) to form a bare-Si/G composite through electrostatic interaction; spherical-like composite particles were then obtained through single and double spray-drying processes, giving samples SD1-Si/G and SD2-Si/G, respectively. We examined the charge/discharge characteristics of the fabricated electrodes (CR2032-type coin cells) in the voltage range 0.02–1.5 V (vs Li/Li+). The as-fabricated bare-Si/G, SD1-Si/G, and SD2-Si/G half-cells provided initial discharge specific capacities of 897, 866, and 1020 mA h g–1, respectively. The SD2-Si/G half-cell shows better cycling stability at a high current rate of 400 mA g–1 than the SD1-Si/G and bare-Si/G half-cells due to effective inhibition of the volume change in the more stable spherical structure of the SD2-Si/G composite, as evidenced through in situ dilatometry. Thus, the spherical Si/G composite material produced through this simple spray-drying process had structural characteristics that could effectively resist silicon’s high expansion rate, lower the production rate of broken silicon particles, and improve the electrochemical performance of the anode