NanoEnergy - Carbon-based spherical nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage

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The project will develop new carbon-based spherical hybrid nanomaterials for anodes in lithium ion batteries (LIB). We will apply our functionalization strategy on conversion electrode materials which show particularly high capacity for energy storage. Thus, potential electrode materials will be converted into actual energy storage materials by functionalization as carbon-based nanohybrides. Major design strategies involve: (i) nanoscaled conversion materials; (ii) carbon nanostructures forming a conducting network which is stable upon electrochemical cycling; (iii) strong bonding or encapsulation of the active materials to the carbon structure in order to ensure electrical contact to the active material to the conductive network even upon disintegration of the materials. Different preparation techniques will be applied such as CVD with use of hard templates (e.g. for pristine carbon spheres and graphene deposition) and wet chemistry routes (for guest molecules filling). The prepared samples will be characterized by means of a variety of tools used in the project, e.g., Raman, FT-IR, TGA, TEM-EDX, SEM, BET, XRD, XPS, in-situ magnetic studies, and Electron-Spin-Resonance. Electrochemical properties will be studied by Cyclic Voltammetry, GCPL, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy EIS. In-situ XRD will be used for particular materials in order to further elucidate the electrochemical mechanisms and structural changes upon cycling. For selected materials, post-cycled materials will be studied by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS in order to assess the effect of cycling on the structure and the morphology.The project demands expertise in the fields of materials science, chemistry, and physics so that an interdisciplinary approach is required. There are clear benefits for both partners as none of the teams can reach the tasks alone. We hence suggest to combine the particular strengths of the Polish team in synthesis and investigation of carbon nanomaterials and its composites with a well renowned expertise in the investigation of electrochemical and physical properties of novel materials by the German team. We believe that with our approach we can move forward to explore a new class of materials useful for anodes in LIBs.