GOALI: Development of Next Generation MXene-based Li-S Batteries with Practical Operating Temperatures

GOALI：开发具有实用工作温度的下一代 MXene 基锂硫电池

• 批准号: 2427203
• 负责人: Vibha Kalra
• 金额: $ 48.85万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-02-15 至 2025-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2427203&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GOALI; Development; Next; Generation; MXene

The workhorse of energy storage for transportation and personal electronics has been, and remains, the lithium-ion battery. And while that technology has proven to be quite robust and useful, one of its major drawbacks is the amount of energy they store. An alternate battery technology that has seen extensive research in the last decade is lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. All else being equal and assuming some hurdles can be overcome, the Li-S battery would have 2-3 times the energy storage capacity of current lithium-ion batteries. It follows that if an electric car’s current range is 200 miles, its range if equipped with a Li-S battery would be 400-600 miles. Two important hurdles that need to be overcome for Li-S batteries are: the nature of the electrolyte between the electrodes and their rapid fade. In this project, the researchers, together with industry partners, will address both problems. Currently, most of the research in Li-S batteries make use of electrolytes (ether) that are highly volatile and pose safety risks when operated above room temperature. Moreover, additives to this electrolyte comes with serious transport regulations due to degassing safety concerns. In this project, the researchers will make use of the same electrolyte that is currently being used for Li-ion batteries, which has an excellent safety record and can be used at temperatures higher than room temperature. The second problem of the rapid fade in capacity with cycling is another challenge. To solve that problem the researchers will study new 2-dimensional materials (think sheets of paper at the atomic level) to immobilize the S, both physically and chemically, to prevent it from shuttling between the battery electrodes that leads to their fade. In terms of broader impact, the researchers, by partnering with a major battery company and an end-use heavy-duty automotive company, will ensure industrial relevance of the research. If successful, this technology could lead to longer lasting batteries, creating new jobs and ensuring that the United States becomes a major player in the energy storage field. Educational broader impact will be achieved by providing training and research opportunities for graduate students pursuing PhDs and undergraduates’ involvement in the research. This fundamental GOALI project will address two key barriers for Li-S battery performance, an electrolyte that can operate at higher temperatures and mitigation of capacity loss due to polysulfide shuttling loss. The project will study a new class of materials to host sulfur, S-terminated MXenes. MXenes are two-dimensional (2D) carbides and/or nitrides discovered at Drexel in 2011 that exhibit metallic conductivity. Preliminary results have shown that MXenes are one of the few material platforms that allow both physical and chemical confinement/immobilization of S, thus reducing/minimizing the polysulfide shuttle effect. The MXenes’ metallic conductivity and “dual-immobilization” strategy will allow stable operation in carbonate electrolytes, while still enabling 70 wt.% S, with 7 mg/cm2 loadings and 83% effective S utilization (1400 mAh/g) – all necessary pre-requisites to approach the application targeted 500 Wh/kg. The cathode research on synthesis, fabrication, and study of redox activity of S-MXene cathodes will be integrated with carbonate electrolyte engineering to further suppress possible adverse polysulfide-carbonate reactions by reducing the electrophilicity. Post-mortem and in-operando spectroscopic and microscopic studies will be conducted to elucidate the quasi-solid-state redox pathways in S-terminated MXene hosts, detect the presence of polysulfides, or other undesired side products, from S-carbonate interactions. Cell-level Newman-type modeling, identifying limiting phenomena will further guide material design. The ultimate objective of this GOALI project - in collaboration with industry partners - is to develop Li-S batteries with practical S-loadings and S-utilizations that stably operate in high boiling point commercial carbonate electrolytes for application in heavy-duty battery electric vehicles.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

运输和个人电子产品的能源存储的主力一直是锂离子电池，虽然该技术已被证明非常强大和有用，但其主要缺点之一是其存储的能量量。过去十年中得到广泛研究的电池技术是锂硫 (Li-S) 电池，在其他条件相同并假设可以克服一些障碍的情况下，锂硫电池的储能容量将是现有技术的 2-3 倍。目前的锂离子由此可见，如果电动汽车目前的续航里程为 200 英里，那么如果配备锂硫电池，其续航里程将达到 400-600 英里。 锂硫电池需要克服的两个重要障碍是：在这个项目中，研究人员将与行业合作伙伴一起解决这两个问题。目前，大多数锂硫电池的研究都使用高度挥发性的电解质（乙醚）。构成安全此外，由于脱气安全问题，该电解质的添加剂具有严格的运输规定。在该项目中，研究人员将使用目前用于锂离子电池的相同电解质。出色的安全记录，并且可以在高于室温的温度下使用。第二个问题是循环过程中容量快速衰减。为了解决这个问题，研究人员将研究新的二维材料（想想纸张）。原子水平）来固定从物理和化学角度来看，电池电极之间的穿梭会导致其褪色，从更广泛的影响来看，研究人员将通过与一家大型电池公司和一家最终用途重型汽车公司合作，确保这一点。如果成功，这项技术可能会带来更持久的电池，创造新的就业机会，并确保美国成为能源存储领域的主要参与者，并通过提供培训和研究机会来实现更广泛的教育影响。攻读博士学位的研究生和本科生的参与这项基础性的 GOALI 项目将解决锂硫电池性能的两个关键障碍，即能够在更高温度下运行的电解质以及减轻多硫化物穿梭损耗造成的容量损失。该项目将研究一种新型材料。硫、S 封端的 MXene 是 2011 年在 Drexel 发现的具有金属导电性的二维 (2D) 碳化物和/或氮化物。研究表明，MXenes 是少数能够同时物理和化学限制/固定 S 的材料平台之一，从而减少/最小化多硫化物穿梭效应。MXenes 的金属导电性和“双固定化”策略将允许在碳酸盐电解质中稳定运行。 ，同时仍可实现 70 wt.% S，负载量为 7 mg/cm2，有效 S 利用率为 83% (1400 mAh/g)——所有这些都是必需的实现 500 Wh/kg 目标应用的先决条件 S-MXene 阴极的合成、制造和氧化还原活性研究将与碳酸盐电解质工程相结合，通过减少可能的不利多硫化物-碳酸盐反应。将进行尸检和操作中的光谱和显微镜研究，以阐明 S 端接的准固态氧化还原途径。 MXene 通过 S-碳酸盐相互作用检测多硫化物或其他不需要的副产物的存在，识别限制现象将进一步指导材料设计 - 与行业合作。合作伙伴 - 旨在开发具有实际硫负载和硫利用率的锂硫电池，该电池可在高沸点商用碳酸盐电解质中稳定运行，用于重型电池电动汽车。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定要求使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。