Tae-Gyung Jeong

Stabilization of oxygen-deficient structure for conducting Li4Ti5O12-δ by molybdenum doping in a reducing atmosphere.

Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is recognized as being one of the most promising anode materials for high power Li ion batteries; however, its insulating nature is a major drawback. In recent years, a simple thermal treatment carried out in a reducing atmosphere has been shown to generate oxygen vacancies (VO) for increasing the electronic conductivity of this material. Such structural defects, however, lead to re-oxidization over time, causing serious deterioration in anode performance. Herein, we report a unique approach to increasing the electronic conductivity with simultaneous improvement in structural stability. Doping of LTO with Mo in a reducing atmosphere resulted in extra charges at Ti sites caused by charge compensation by the homogeneously distributed Mo6+ ions, being delocalized over the entire lattice, with fewer oxygen vacancies (VO) generated. Using this simple method, a marked increase in electronic conductivity was achieved, in addition to an extremely high rate capability, with no performance deterioration over time.

Enhanced performance of sulfur-infiltrated bimodal mesoporous carbon foam by chemical solution deposition as cathode materials for lithium sulfur batteries

The porous carbon matrix is widely recognized to be a promising sulfur reservoir to improve the cycle life by suppressing the polysulfide dissolution in lithium sulfur batteries (LSB). Herein, we synthesized mesocellular carbon foam (MSUF-C) with bimodal mesopore (4 and 30 nm) and large pore volume (1.72 cm2/g) using MSUF silica as a template and employed it as both the sulfur reservoir and the conductive agent in the sulfur cathode. Sulfur was uniformly infiltrated into MSUF-C pores by a chemical solution deposition method (MSUF-C/S CSD) and the amount of sulfur loading was achieved as high as 73% thanks to the large pore volume with the CSD approach. MSUF-C/S CSD showed a high capacity (889 mAh/g after 100 cycles at 0.2 C), an improved rate capability (879 mAh/g at 1C and 420 mAh/g at 2C), and a good capacity retention with a fade rate of 0.16% per cycle over 100 cycles.

An upper limit of Cr-doping level to Retain Zero-strain Characteristics of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 Anode Material for Li-ion Batteries

Since Li4Ti5O12 as a promising anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has a poor rate performance due to low electronic conductivity, a doping of Li4Ti5O12 with heterogeneous atoms has been considered to overcome this problem. Herein, we report that there is an upper limit of doping level to maintain the zero strain characteristics of Li4Ti5O12 lattice during charge/discharge process. By using synchrotron studies, it was revealed that the Li+ diffusivity was maximized at a certain doping level for which the conductivity was markedly increased with maintaining the zero strain characteristics. However, with more doses of dopants over the upper limit, the lattice shrank and therefore the Li+ diffusivity decreased, although the electronic conductivity was further increased in comparison with the optimal doping level.

Electrochemical Properties of Lithium Sulfur Battery with Silicon Anodes Lithiated by Direct Contact Method

It is hard to employ the carbon materials or the lithium metal foil for the anode of lithium sulfur batteries because of the poor passivation in ether-based electrolytes and the formation of lithium dendrites, respectively. Herein, we investigated the electrochemical characteristics of lithium sulfur batteries with lithiated silicon anode in the liquid electrolytes based on ether solvents. The silicon anodes were lithiated by direct contact with lithium foil in a 1M lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) solution in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) and 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) at a volume ratio of 1:1. They were readily lithiated up to ~40% of their theoretical capacity with a 30 min contact time. In particular, the carbon mesh reported in our previous work was employed in order to maximize the performance by capturing the dissolved polysulfide in sulfur cathode. The reversible specific capacity of the lithiated silicon-sulfur batteries with carbon mesh was 1,129 mAh/g during the first cycle, and was maintained at 297 mAh/g even after 50 cycles at 0.2 C, without any problems of poor passivation or lithium dendrite formation.