Tianye Zheng - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Tianye Zheng
Electrochimica acta, May 1, 2024
Meeting abstracts/Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society. CD-ROM), Dec 22, 2023
JOM, Apr 15, 2024
Activated carbon has long been recognized as a promising electrode material for energy storage de... more Activated carbon has long been recognized as a promising electrode material for energy storage devices. The extraordinarily high specific area makes it challenging to replace in supercapacitors since electrical double-layer capacitors need such surfaces but also porous networks to enable electrolyte penetration. As a raw material for synthesizing activated carbon, sawdust offers key benefits, such as its renewability, abundance, favorable physical attributes for energy storage, and a more environmentally friendly synthesis process compared to mined alternative sources. In this work, electrochemical characterization is carried out which highlights the critical role of pelletization in enhancing the capacitive performance of sawdust-derived activated carbon, in addition to the implicit handling and logistical benefits. Subsequently, a Li-ion capacitor is assembled with an organic solvent-based electrolyte, sawdust-derived activated carbon serving as the positive electrode, and an Al-based foil negative electrode, potentially combining high energy and power density materials into a hybrid device. Despite commendable electrochemical performance and the use of a sustainable waste-derived positive electrode with a commoditized negative electrode, challenges remain regarding the ability to mitigate the role of surface functional groups that are stabilized by bio-carbon thermal treatments. Nevertheless, this distinctive architecture holds promise as an alternative high-power energy storage technology for a future filled with renewable energy, electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Group IVA elements exhibit interesting Na storage capabilities due to the success of their Li all... more Group IVA elements exhibit interesting Na storage capabilities due to the success of their Li alloy analogues. However, beyond hard carbon, they remain poorly understood as anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Here, kinetic investigations of the electrochemical sodiation of Si and Ge are conducted using liquid electrolytes and half-cell configurations. Sodiation of Ge is found to be kinetically limited rather than thermodynamically limited. Either increasing temperature or decreasing sodiation rate can facilitate easier transformations from Ge to Na-Ge phases. A critical temperature seems to exist between 50 °C and 60 °C, beyond which a higher sodiation capacity is evident. The phase transformations are analyzed using Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami theory. Following a one-dimensional growth, the Ge to NaGe4 is determined to be diffusion limited whereas NaGe4 to Na1+x Ge is controlled by reaction speed. Moreover, the Arrhenius equation is employed to investigate the temperature de...
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Feb 25, 2022
Lithium-ion battery electrodes contain a substantial amount of electrochemically inactive materia... more Lithium-ion battery electrodes contain a substantial amount of electrochemically inactive materials, including binders, conductive agents, and current collectors. These extra components significantly dilute the specific capacity of whole electrodes and thus have led to efforts to utilize foils, for example, Al, as the sole anode material. Interestingly, the literature has many reports of fast degradation of Al electrodes, where less than a dozen cycles can be achieved. However, in some studies, Al anodes demonstrate stable cycling life with several hundred cycles. In this work, we present a successful pathway for enabling long-term cycling of simple Al foil anodes: the β-LiAl phase grown from Al foil (α-Al) exhibits a cycling life of 500 cycles with a ∼96% capacity retention when paired with a commercial cathode. The excellent performance stems from strategic utilization of the Li solubility range of β-LiAl that can be (de-)lithiated without altering its crystal structure. This solubility range at room temperature is determined to be ∼6 at %. Consequently, this design circumvents the critical issues associated with the α/β/α phase transformations, such as volume change, mechanical strain, and formation of nanopores. Application-wise, the maturity of the aluminum industry, combined with excellent sustainability prospects, makes this anode an important option for future devices.
Energy & Fuels, Jul 14, 2023
ChemElectroChem, Jul 9, 2018
Batteries & Supercaps
Progress in Energy
Aluminum metal has long been known to function as an anode in lithium-ion batteries owing to its ... more Aluminum metal has long been known to function as an anode in lithium-ion batteries owing to its capacity, low potential, and effective suppression of dendrite growth. However, seemingly intrinsic degradation during cycling has made it less attractive throughout the years compared to graphitic carbon, silicon-blends, and more recently lithium metal itself. Nevertheless, with the recent unprecedented growth of the lithium-ion battery industry, this review aims to revisit aluminum as an anode material, particularly in light of important advancements in understanding the electrochemical lithium-aluminum system, as well as the growth of activity in solid-state batteries where cell designs may conveniently mitigate problems found in traditional liquid cells. Furthermore, this review culminates by highlighting several non-trivial points including: 1) Prelithiatied aluminum anodes, with β-LiAl serving as an intercalation host, can be effectively immortal, depending on formation and cycling...
A two-step modification for the electrochemical performance of Si-based anodes for LIBs is achiev... more A two-step modification for the electrochemical performance of Si-based anodes for LIBs is achieved in this study. Firstly, the Cr element is chosen as the doped media into Si bulk via a HEBM method and the fabricated Si-Cr precursors consist of nanocrystalline Si, CrSi2, and amorphous Si. The electrochemical analysis reveals that all ball-milled samples have a similar lithiation/delithiation mechanism with raw Si but the generation of cr-Li3.75Si can be effectively suppressed in the initial stage. The introduction of Cr can enhance cycle stability, volumetric capacity, coulombic efficiency, and electrical conductivity for Si-Cr alloys. The abnormal performance degradation phenomenon in previous Si-CuO system cannot be found here and the suggested Cr ratio is at least 15%. Furthermore, the selected Si85Cr15 precursor is conducted a carbon-coating treatment at 800 ℃, where it shows a 100- and 250-cycle capacity retention of ~93% at 0.2C and ~80% at 0.5C, respectively. The excellent c...
Batteries & Supercaps
Lithium-ion batteries with aluminum anodes had appeared to resolve critical dendrite issues of li... more Lithium-ion batteries with aluminum anodes had appeared to resolve critical dendrite issues of lithium metal cells in the 1970s. However, the poor cycling attributed to aluminum anodes would lead to their obsolescence. In this work, we demonstrate how strategic thermal control circumvents the problematic α/β phase transformations. The electrochemical formation of Li3Al2 and Li2-xAl, which necessitates temperatures slightly above ambient, are the key enablers for high capacity and stable cycling. While delivering a competitive capacity level (ca. 1 Ah kg-1-Al), those higher-order phases exhibit significantly improved cycling behaviors, from a few cycles to one hundred cycles with ca. 67% capacity retention. Since modern battery charging is likely to occur above ambient due to ohmic heating, the thermal conditions explored here are likely to be realized in a variety of applications. Importantly, this elevated temperature is not necessary for aluminum anode delithiation, thus creating ...
The huge volume change of Si anode with fast capacity degradation limits its commercialization in... more The huge volume change of Si anode with fast capacity degradation limits its commercialization in LIBs. The co-introduction of metal and O elements into the Si bulk fabricating Si-metal silicide-Si oxides composites has been proven an effective way to overcome this issue. Among them, Si-CuO composites, due to financial feasibility and environmentally compatibility, have attracted much attention recent years but still with the unsatisfactory cycle performance. In order to optimize the cycle stability of Si-CuO composites, NiO is firstly introduced into the Si-CuO system with different proportion from 10 % to 20 % by a facile and low-cost HEBM method. The study reveals that Si72CuO8NiO20, with the least volume change percentage of ~ 133 %, has a highest capacity retention of ~ 86. 9% after 100 cycles at 0.2 C and average coulombic efficiency of ~ 99.4 % as well as a competitive volumetric capacity of ~ 1700 Ah·L-1 based on the 2nd lithiation. These results confirm the effectiveness of...
NiO was introduced into Si-CuO alloys as anode materials in LIBs by an affordable manufacturing h... more NiO was introduced into Si-CuO alloys as anode materials in LIBs by an affordable manufacturing high-energy ball-milling method the first time. The study found the ball-milled Si-CuO-NiO composites could effectively suppress the formation of the Li3.75Si phase during the lithiation process. With increasing the proportion of NiO, there was obvious improvement on cycle stability and coulombic efficiency. As a comparison, the ball-milled material of Si-CuO (23.5%) with the same mass fraction of the metal oxide as Si-CuO-NiO (15%) was also synthesized but showed much worse electrochemical performance. In addition, the ball-milled Si-CuO-NiO (15%) also had a certain degree of thermal stability and when coating carbon layer at 800 ℃, the capacity retention could be ~ 92% after 100 cycles at 0.2C.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
The convergence of fiber optic sensing with lithium-ion batteries holds great promise for observi... more The convergence of fiber optic sensing with lithium-ion batteries holds great promise for observing key cell parameters in real time, which is essential to every level of decision making, from design and engineering to finance and management. Optical sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings have recently been demonstrated as an ideal tool for measuring these metrics with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. In this work, we extend the use of fiber Bragg gratings to polymeric optical fibers which have notably greater thermal and strain coefficients than their common silica counterparts. We demonstrate that a polymer optical fiber sensor paired with a silica-based sensor, both affixed to the external package of a lithium battery, can concurrently generate high fidelity temperature and volumetric expansion data through this non-invasive approach. The quality of this data allows for further assessments as mechanical characteristics associated with dimensional changes of cells may in...
Electrochimica acta, May 1, 2024
Meeting abstracts/Meeting abstracts (Electrochemical Society. CD-ROM), Dec 22, 2023
JOM, Apr 15, 2024
Activated carbon has long been recognized as a promising electrode material for energy storage de... more Activated carbon has long been recognized as a promising electrode material for energy storage devices. The extraordinarily high specific area makes it challenging to replace in supercapacitors since electrical double-layer capacitors need such surfaces but also porous networks to enable electrolyte penetration. As a raw material for synthesizing activated carbon, sawdust offers key benefits, such as its renewability, abundance, favorable physical attributes for energy storage, and a more environmentally friendly synthesis process compared to mined alternative sources. In this work, electrochemical characterization is carried out which highlights the critical role of pelletization in enhancing the capacitive performance of sawdust-derived activated carbon, in addition to the implicit handling and logistical benefits. Subsequently, a Li-ion capacitor is assembled with an organic solvent-based electrolyte, sawdust-derived activated carbon serving as the positive electrode, and an Al-based foil negative electrode, potentially combining high energy and power density materials into a hybrid device. Despite commendable electrochemical performance and the use of a sustainable waste-derived positive electrode with a commoditized negative electrode, challenges remain regarding the ability to mitigate the role of surface functional groups that are stabilized by bio-carbon thermal treatments. Nevertheless, this distinctive architecture holds promise as an alternative high-power energy storage technology for a future filled with renewable energy, electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Group IVA elements exhibit interesting Na storage capabilities due to the success of their Li all... more Group IVA elements exhibit interesting Na storage capabilities due to the success of their Li alloy analogues. However, beyond hard carbon, they remain poorly understood as anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Here, kinetic investigations of the electrochemical sodiation of Si and Ge are conducted using liquid electrolytes and half-cell configurations. Sodiation of Ge is found to be kinetically limited rather than thermodynamically limited. Either increasing temperature or decreasing sodiation rate can facilitate easier transformations from Ge to Na-Ge phases. A critical temperature seems to exist between 50 °C and 60 °C, beyond which a higher sodiation capacity is evident. The phase transformations are analyzed using Kolmogorov–Johnson–Mehl–Avrami theory. Following a one-dimensional growth, the Ge to NaGe4 is determined to be diffusion limited whereas NaGe4 to Na1+x Ge is controlled by reaction speed. Moreover, the Arrhenius equation is employed to investigate the temperature de...
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Feb 25, 2022
Lithium-ion battery electrodes contain a substantial amount of electrochemically inactive materia... more Lithium-ion battery electrodes contain a substantial amount of electrochemically inactive materials, including binders, conductive agents, and current collectors. These extra components significantly dilute the specific capacity of whole electrodes and thus have led to efforts to utilize foils, for example, Al, as the sole anode material. Interestingly, the literature has many reports of fast degradation of Al electrodes, where less than a dozen cycles can be achieved. However, in some studies, Al anodes demonstrate stable cycling life with several hundred cycles. In this work, we present a successful pathway for enabling long-term cycling of simple Al foil anodes: the β-LiAl phase grown from Al foil (α-Al) exhibits a cycling life of 500 cycles with a ∼96% capacity retention when paired with a commercial cathode. The excellent performance stems from strategic utilization of the Li solubility range of β-LiAl that can be (de-)lithiated without altering its crystal structure. This solubility range at room temperature is determined to be ∼6 at %. Consequently, this design circumvents the critical issues associated with the α/β/α phase transformations, such as volume change, mechanical strain, and formation of nanopores. Application-wise, the maturity of the aluminum industry, combined with excellent sustainability prospects, makes this anode an important option for future devices.
Energy & Fuels, Jul 14, 2023
ChemElectroChem, Jul 9, 2018
Batteries & Supercaps
Progress in Energy
Aluminum metal has long been known to function as an anode in lithium-ion batteries owing to its ... more Aluminum metal has long been known to function as an anode in lithium-ion batteries owing to its capacity, low potential, and effective suppression of dendrite growth. However, seemingly intrinsic degradation during cycling has made it less attractive throughout the years compared to graphitic carbon, silicon-blends, and more recently lithium metal itself. Nevertheless, with the recent unprecedented growth of the lithium-ion battery industry, this review aims to revisit aluminum as an anode material, particularly in light of important advancements in understanding the electrochemical lithium-aluminum system, as well as the growth of activity in solid-state batteries where cell designs may conveniently mitigate problems found in traditional liquid cells. Furthermore, this review culminates by highlighting several non-trivial points including: 1) Prelithiatied aluminum anodes, with β-LiAl serving as an intercalation host, can be effectively immortal, depending on formation and cycling...
A two-step modification for the electrochemical performance of Si-based anodes for LIBs is achiev... more A two-step modification for the electrochemical performance of Si-based anodes for LIBs is achieved in this study. Firstly, the Cr element is chosen as the doped media into Si bulk via a HEBM method and the fabricated Si-Cr precursors consist of nanocrystalline Si, CrSi2, and amorphous Si. The electrochemical analysis reveals that all ball-milled samples have a similar lithiation/delithiation mechanism with raw Si but the generation of cr-Li3.75Si can be effectively suppressed in the initial stage. The introduction of Cr can enhance cycle stability, volumetric capacity, coulombic efficiency, and electrical conductivity for Si-Cr alloys. The abnormal performance degradation phenomenon in previous Si-CuO system cannot be found here and the suggested Cr ratio is at least 15%. Furthermore, the selected Si85Cr15 precursor is conducted a carbon-coating treatment at 800 ℃, where it shows a 100- and 250-cycle capacity retention of ~93% at 0.2C and ~80% at 0.5C, respectively. The excellent c...
Batteries & Supercaps
Lithium-ion batteries with aluminum anodes had appeared to resolve critical dendrite issues of li... more Lithium-ion batteries with aluminum anodes had appeared to resolve critical dendrite issues of lithium metal cells in the 1970s. However, the poor cycling attributed to aluminum anodes would lead to their obsolescence. In this work, we demonstrate how strategic thermal control circumvents the problematic α/β phase transformations. The electrochemical formation of Li3Al2 and Li2-xAl, which necessitates temperatures slightly above ambient, are the key enablers for high capacity and stable cycling. While delivering a competitive capacity level (ca. 1 Ah kg-1-Al), those higher-order phases exhibit significantly improved cycling behaviors, from a few cycles to one hundred cycles with ca. 67% capacity retention. Since modern battery charging is likely to occur above ambient due to ohmic heating, the thermal conditions explored here are likely to be realized in a variety of applications. Importantly, this elevated temperature is not necessary for aluminum anode delithiation, thus creating ...
The huge volume change of Si anode with fast capacity degradation limits its commercialization in... more The huge volume change of Si anode with fast capacity degradation limits its commercialization in LIBs. The co-introduction of metal and O elements into the Si bulk fabricating Si-metal silicide-Si oxides composites has been proven an effective way to overcome this issue. Among them, Si-CuO composites, due to financial feasibility and environmentally compatibility, have attracted much attention recent years but still with the unsatisfactory cycle performance. In order to optimize the cycle stability of Si-CuO composites, NiO is firstly introduced into the Si-CuO system with different proportion from 10 % to 20 % by a facile and low-cost HEBM method. The study reveals that Si72CuO8NiO20, with the least volume change percentage of ~ 133 %, has a highest capacity retention of ~ 86. 9% after 100 cycles at 0.2 C and average coulombic efficiency of ~ 99.4 % as well as a competitive volumetric capacity of ~ 1700 Ah·L-1 based on the 2nd lithiation. These results confirm the effectiveness of...
NiO was introduced into Si-CuO alloys as anode materials in LIBs by an affordable manufacturing h... more NiO was introduced into Si-CuO alloys as anode materials in LIBs by an affordable manufacturing high-energy ball-milling method the first time. The study found the ball-milled Si-CuO-NiO composites could effectively suppress the formation of the Li3.75Si phase during the lithiation process. With increasing the proportion of NiO, there was obvious improvement on cycle stability and coulombic efficiency. As a comparison, the ball-milled material of Si-CuO (23.5%) with the same mass fraction of the metal oxide as Si-CuO-NiO (15%) was also synthesized but showed much worse electrochemical performance. In addition, the ball-milled Si-CuO-NiO (15%) also had a certain degree of thermal stability and when coating carbon layer at 800 ℃, the capacity retention could be ~ 92% after 100 cycles at 0.2C.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
The convergence of fiber optic sensing with lithium-ion batteries holds great promise for observi... more The convergence of fiber optic sensing with lithium-ion batteries holds great promise for observing key cell parameters in real time, which is essential to every level of decision making, from design and engineering to finance and management. Optical sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings have recently been demonstrated as an ideal tool for measuring these metrics with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. In this work, we extend the use of fiber Bragg gratings to polymeric optical fibers which have notably greater thermal and strain coefficients than their common silica counterparts. We demonstrate that a polymer optical fiber sensor paired with a silica-based sensor, both affixed to the external package of a lithium battery, can concurrently generate high fidelity temperature and volumetric expansion data through this non-invasive approach. The quality of this data allows for further assessments as mechanical characteristics associated with dimensional changes of cells may in...