Non-equilibrium synthesis and recycling of cathode materials for high energy capacity and high thermal stability lithium ion batteries

Abstract:  Li ion batteries (LiBs) have been widely used in portable electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage. However, current LiBs are still constrained by their high costs, low energy density, low thermal stability, and high fire propensity. In addition, large ion containing waste water production in electrode material synthesis and recycling have significant environmental impact. In this seminar, we will present a non-equilibrium high temperature synthesis method for concentration-gradient high nickel LiB cathode

materials with increased energy density and thermal stability and an environmentally friendly non-equilibrium gas phase recycling method for electrode materials. At first, the seminar will present a combustion synthesis method of high nickel nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) electrode materials using sub-micron aerosols. The correlations between the droplet size, particle morphologies, flame temperature, precursor compositions, and precursor vaporization are investigated. In addition, the effect of lanthanide ion doping on the improvement of high nickel NMC cathode material energy capacity, crystalline structure, cycling and thermal stability (oxygen release) is demonstrated. Furthermore, by controlling the vaporization time and the crystallization time of aerosol, a concentration gradient ion-doping structure is demonstrated. The results show that the concentration ion doping can further improve the cycling and thermal stability of high nickel cathode materials. Finally, plasma assisted purification and recycling of LiB electrode materials will be discussed. The properties of plasma regenerated electrode materials are examined and compared. The results suggest that by using non-equilibrium synthesis and recycling methods, high nickel cathode materials with lower cost, lower environmental impact, and higher energy capacity and thermal stability can be synthesized and regenerated with.

Bio: Yiguang Ju is the Robert Porter Patterson Professor at Princeton University. He received his bachelor degree from Tsinghua University in 1986, and his PhD degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Tohoku University in 1994.  He was appointed as an Assistant and Associate Professor at Tohoku University from 1995 to 1999, and as a Chang-Jiang Professor and the Director of Thermo-physics Institute at Tsinghua University in 2000. He joined Princeton University in 2001. Ju’s research interests include combustion, fuels, propulsion, plasma, and energy materials for low carbon energy conversion and chemical manufacturing. He has published more than 250 journal articles. He is an ASME Fellow and an inaugural Fellow of the Combustion Institute. He served as the chair of US Sections of the Combustion Institute and is a Board of Director of the Combustion Institute, the NASA rocket study committee and the NAS steering committee for NASA decadal survey on biological and physical sciences research in space. He received the Bessel Research Award from von Humboldt Foundation, NASA Director’s appreciation award, and the AIAA 2021 Propellants and Combustion award, and was a plenary speaker of the 38th International Symposium on Combustion.

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