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Thomas CM, Zeng D, Huang HC, Pham T, Torres-Castanedo CG, Bedzyk MJ, Dravid VP, Hersam MC. Earth-Abundant Kaolinite Nanoplatelet Gel Electrolytes for Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:34913-34922. [PMID: 38924489 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c03997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries are the leading energy storage technology for portable electronics and vehicle electrification. However, demands for enhanced energy density, safety, and scalability necessitate solid-state alternatives to traditional liquid electrolytes. Moreover, the rapidly increasing utilization of lithium-ion batteries further requires that next-generation electrolytes are derived from earth-abundant raw materials in order to minimize supply chain and environmental concerns. Toward these ends, clay-based nanocomposite electrolytes hold significant promise since they utilize earth-abundant materials that possess superlative mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical stability, which suggests their compatibility with energy-dense lithium metal anodes. Despite these advantages, nanocomposite electrolytes rarely employ kaolinite, the most abundant variety of clay, due to strong interlayer interactions that have historically precluded efficient exfoliation of kaolinite. Overcoming this limitation, here we demonstrate a scalable liquid-phase exfoliation process that produces kaolinite nanoplatelets (KNPs) with high gravimetric surface area, thus enabling the formation of mechanically robust nanocomposites. In particular, KNPs are combined with a succinonitrile (SN) liquid electrolyte to form a nanocomposite gel electrolyte with high room-temperature ionic conductivity (1 mS cm-1), stiff storage modulus (>10 MPa), wide electrochemical stability window (4.5 V vs Li/Li+), and excellent thermal stability (>100 °C). The resulting KNP-SN nanocomposite gel electrolyte is shown to be suitable for high-rate rechargeable lithium metal batteries that employ high-voltage LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) cathodes. While the primary focus here is on solid-state batteries, our strategy for kaolinite liquid-phase exfoliation can serve as a scalable manufacturing platform for a wide variety of other kaolinite-based nanocomposite applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory M Thomas
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Davy Zeng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Hsien Cheng Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Thang Pham
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Carlos G Torres-Castanedo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Michael J Bedzyk
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Applied Physics Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Vinayak P Dravid
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Mark C Hersam
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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Wang YR, Yin CC, Zhang JM, Wu J, Yu J, Zhang J. Functional Cellulose Materials Fabricated by Using Ionic Liquids as the Solvent. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-022-2787-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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