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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Rechargeable Micro-Batteries

The quest for efficient power sources for small sensors has led to a growing interest in rechargeable micro-batteries, offering the potential to harness energy from various sources for extended periods. This project delves into a multifaceted project aimed at enhancing the performance and viability of rechargeable micro-batteries in this context. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has leveraged its expertise in primary micro-battery development, evolving into a software-driven approach for designing cylindrical micro-batteries. This project addresses the cycle life issue through innovative cell design, electrode optimization, and electrolyte refinement. A case study of the MB1842 rechargeable micro-battery demonstrates the promising outcomes of these advancements, showcasing a capacity of 0.32 mAh at ~1C (0.35 mA) and remarkable cycle performance, extending the cycle life to 510-570 cycles at 80% end-of-life (EOL), 710-760 cycles at 70% EOL and 840-940 cycles at 60% EOL, thereby ensuring a service life of 10 years for these rechargeable micro-batteries. This endeavor represents a significant stride towards unlocking the full potential of rechargeable micro-batteries, paving the way for their widespread application in small sensor technologies. The outcome from this project also successfully supports the award of a new project: 80621 - Self-Powered Modular Acoustic Telemetry System with Sensing.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multiphase, Multiscale Chemomechanics at Extreme Low Temperatures: Battery Electrodes for Operation in a Wide Temperature Range

Understanding the behavior of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) under extreme conditions, for example, low temperature, is key to broad adoption of LIBs in various application scenarios. LIBs, poor performance at low temperatures is often attributed to the inferior lithium-ion transport in the electrolyte, which has motivated new electrolyte development as well as the battery preheating approach that is popular in electric vehicles. A significant irrevocable capacity loss, however, is not resolved by these measures nor well understood. Herein, multiphase, multiscale chemomechanical behaviors in composite LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 (NMC, x + y + z = 1) cathodes at extremely low temperatures are systematically elucidated. The low-temperature storage of LIBs can result in irreversible structural damage in active electrodes, which can negatively impact the subsequent battery cycling performance at ambient temperature. Furthermore, beside developing electrolytes that have stable performance, designing batteries for use in a wide temperature range also calls for the development of electrode components that are structurally and morphologically robust when the cell is switched between different temperatures.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrolytic gold plating, stripping, and ion transport dynamics through a solid-state iodide perovskite

The pronounced electrochemical reactivity between halide perovskites and metal electrodes can introduce mobile extrinsic metal ions which can cause device instability or enable novel functionalities. Here we systematically investigate the kinetics of gold cation (Au + ) migration in indium tin oxide (ITO)/methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI 3 )/Au model devices under long-term potentiostatic biasing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density functional theory (DFT) analyses reveal that Au + ions, electrochemically generated at the Au anode, traverse the perovskite layer with diffusion coefficients on the order of 10 −11 to 10 −10 cm 2 s −1 and are subsequently reduced at the cathode as Au 0 clusters, resembling metal plating behavior in electrolytic cells and solid-state batteries during charging. Furthermore, reversing the applied bias strips the plated Au 0 , revealing reversibility suitable for bipolar resistive switching devices and providing direct evidence of the electrochemical and ionic nature of Au transport within the perovskite matrix. Quantitatively determining diffusion coefficients and ion concentrations provides foundational inputs for future drift-diffusion modelling opportunities and allows us to relate our findings to implications on long term operation of devices like photovoltaic modules. These results clearly demonstrate the solid-state electrochemical nature of perovskite devices, highlight methods to be more quantitative about ion transport properties, provide and emphasize the importance of disentangling electro-, photo-, photoelectrochemical processes for understanding device performance and unlocking new functionalities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Techno-economic analysis of cathode material production using flame-assisted spray pyrolysis

The cost of cathode materials contributes approximately 32.7% of the total cell construction cost of lithium-ion batteries, significantly affecting the price of battery packs. To reduce the cathode material manufacturing cost, a flame-assisted spray pyrolysis (FSP) method has been developed to utilize a sustainable solvent of glycerol to manufacture the LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 (NMC333) cathode materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the minimum cathode material selling price (MCSP) of the FSP processes compared with a traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway. Results show that the MCSP of the FSP is $\$$19.1/kg that is 17% lower than the traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway as a result of lower fixed operating cost and variable overhead. Sensitivity analysis shows that when the new process is integrated with in-situ sintering and processing, the MCSP can be as low as $\$$15.6/kg. When all the material prices are decreased by 20%, the FSP process can synthesize NMC333 at a price of $\$$2.3/kg lower. According to the simulation result, LiNi 0·8 Mn 0·1 Co 0·1 O 2 (NMC811) has the best potential to meet the U.S. Department of Energy battery price target of $\$$125/kWh, demonstrating that the FSP process is an attractive manufacturing technology for NMC cathode powder material production.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Thermodynamic Reassessment of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Calorimetry

This work demonstrates how staged heat release from layered metal oxide cathodes in the presence of organic electrolytes can be predicted from basic thermodynamic properties. These prediction methods for heat release are an advancement compared to typical modeling approaches for thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, which tend to rely exclusively on calorimetry measurements of battery components. These calculations generate useful new insights when compared to calorimetry measurements for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) as well as the most common varieties of nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA). Accurate trends in heat release with varying state of charge are predicted for all of these cathode materials. These results suggest that thermodynamic calculations utilizing a recently published database of properties are broadly applicable for predicting decomposition behavior of layered metal oxide cathodes. Aspects of literature calorimetry measurements relevant to thermal runaway modeling are identified and classified as thermodynamic or kinetic effects. The calorimetry measurements reviewed in this work will be useful for development of a new generation of thermal runaway models targeting applications where accurate maximum cell temperatures are required to predict cascading cell-to-cell propagation rates.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrolyte Compatible Separator Materials for Sodium-Ion Battery

Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) have emerged as an alternative electrochemical energy storage to replace lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Separator is one of the key components that dictates the cell performance of NIB. Significant progress has been made in electrolyte research, however for most cases glass fiber has been used as separator due to its remarkable electrolyte wettability despite its many disadvantages. In this study, we evaluated commercially available porous materials as separator material for NIB. Porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane stands out as a universal separator which exhibits high compatibility with a wide range of electrolytes and electrodes and demonstrates high electrochemical stability evaluated in hard carbon/Na half cells and NaNi 1/3 Fe 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 (NFM111)/hard carbon full cells. This research highlights the PVDF membrane as a viable separator for advancing NIB research, enabling the development of new electrolyte materials without the separator constraints of wetting limitations or excessive electrolyte consumption.

Wostoupal, Owen S. [Argonne National Laboratory (A↗
DOE OSTI2023

High‐Performance Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by a Fluorinated Cyclic Ether with a Low Reduction Potential

Abstract Electrolyte engineering is crucial for developing high‐performance lithium metal batteries (LMB). Here, we synthesized two cosolvents methyl bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (MFSI) and 3,3,4,4‐tetrafluorotetrahydrofuran (TFF) with significantly different reduction potentials and add them into LiFSI‐DME electrolytes. The LiFSI/TFF‐DME electrolyte gave an average Li Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.41 % over 200 cycles, while the average Li CEs for MFSI‐based electrolyte is only 98.62 %. Additionally, the TFF‐based electrolytes exhibited a more reversible performance than the state‐of‐the‐art fluorinated 1,4‐dimethoxylbutane electrolyte in both Li||Cu half‐cell and anode‐free Cu||LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 full cell. More importantly, the decomposition product from bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide anion could react with ether solvent, which destroyed the SEI, thus decreasing cell performance. These key discoveries provide new insights into the rational design of electrolyte solvents and cosolvents for LMB.

Wu, Min↗
DOE OSTI2023

High‐Performance Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by a Fluorinated Cyclic Ether with a Low Reduction Potential

Abstract Electrolyte engineering is crucial for developing high‐performance lithium metal batteries (LMB). Here, we synthesized two cosolvents methyl bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (MFSI) and 3,3,4,4‐tetrafluorotetrahydrofuran (TFF) with significantly different reduction potentials and add them into LiFSI‐DME electrolytes. The LiFSI/TFF‐DME electrolyte gave an average Li Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.41 % over 200 cycles, while the average Li CEs for MFSI‐based electrolyte is only 98.62 %. Additionally, the TFF‐based electrolytes exhibited a more reversible performance than the state‐of‐the‐art fluorinated 1,4‐dimethoxylbutane electrolyte in both Li||Cu half‐cell and anode‐free Cu||LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 full cell. More importantly, the decomposition product from bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide anion could react with ether solvent, which destroyed the SEI, thus decreasing cell performance. These key discoveries provide new insights into the rational design of electrolyte solvents and cosolvents for LMB.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Role of Electrolyte in Overcoming the Challenges of LiNiO 2 Cathode in Lithium Batteries

LiNiO 2 (LNO) is a high-capacity and model cathode first discovered in the 1980s that fell out of favor due to its intrinsic instabilities. However, research activities toward LNO are once again on the rise as the push for higher-energy-density cells marches on. Here we demonstrate here that with appropriate modern electrolytes, major performance improvements can be achieved with LNO with no additional modifications. Cells with a localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE) deliver 92% capacity retention after 200 cycles compared with 56% capacity retention in a baseline carbonate electrolyte, maintain 94% capacity after high-voltage storage compared with 77% capacity, and display a higher onset temperature of thermal runaway of 244 °C compared with 188 °C. These improvements are attributed to the LHCE’s high oxidative stability and its formation of fluorine-rich interphases. Although further characterization of this new class of electrolyte is necessary, this work demonstrates that modern electrolytes can be drop-in enablers of high-capacity, long-cycle-life cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Addressing Limitations of the Endpoint Slippage Analysis

Some rate of oxidation and reduction side-reactions will inevitably coexist in most rechargeable batteries. While parasitic reduction traps electrons, parasitic oxidation donates electrons to the cell’s inventory and may cause temporary capacity gain. Consequently, capacity measurements can provide unreliable information about the total extent of side-reactions occurring in the cell. The most widely used method to determine the rate of both these parasitic processes involves analyzing the slippage of endpoints, which consists in tracking the termination of cell charge and discharge when data is represented along a cumulative capacity axis. Here, we argue that this approach could lead to inaccuracies when applied to certain systems, which includes Si electrodes in Li-ion batteries and hard carbon in Na-ion batteries. This inaccuracy originates from the smooth nature of the voltage profiles of these materials at low and high alkali-ion content, causing the termination of charge and discharge to be dictated by voltage changes at both the positive and negative electrodes. We analyze this issue in quantitative terms and propose equations that can provide true rates of parasitic processes from experimental endpoint slippage data. This work shows that, in battery science, well-established analytical approaches may not be directly transferrable to new electrode systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A pair of metal organic framework (MOF)-derived oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for zinc-air batteries

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are amazing precursors for the development of functional catalysts due to their ability of being modified both structurally and in terms of composition. Here this work presents a pair of MOF - derived oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for the advancement of zinc-air batteries. Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF) are known as ideal materials to create doped carbons. Combining with a sacrificial tellurium template, we have developed a “pseudo-carbon nanotube” with a ZIF-8 that is doped with a mixture of zinc, cobalt, and iron. The resulting mixed-metal doped porous carbon nanotubes (CoFeZn@pCNT) show excellent catalytic activity for ORR with a half-way ORR potential (E 1/2 ) of 0.87 V vs. RHE (reverse hydrogen electrode). Iridium-based catalysts are known as the best option for OER so far, but it is not viable for practical applications due to cost restrictions. Previous research into alternative catalysts has focused on metal oxides with first-row transition metals. Metal sulfides provide superior conductivity compared to metal oxides and are a new frontier in the search for affordable, active, and stable OER catalysts. By combining cobalt, iron, and nickel into a MOF structure (ZIF-67), followed by a sulfurization process, a MOF-derived mixed-metal sulfide catalyst (FeCoNi–S@ZIF) has been developed in this study. The resulting catalysts show an onset OER potential of 1.65 V vs. RHE at 10 mA cm -2 and exhibit remarkable stability for the operation of zinc-air batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Superlattice-Structured Films by Magnetron Sputtering as New Era Electrodes for Advanced Lithium-ion Batteries

Sustaining sound structures in Si-based anodes is extremely challenging because of the high volumetric expansion that occurs upon cycling. To maintain high capacities over cycles, new designs rely on engineering-specific hierarchical geometries and/or optimized composite compositions such that at least one of the multiple elements serves as buffer and/or electron conductive pathways in the electrodes. In this paper, we report an innovative design in which alternating layers of periodic atomic structures involving multiple elements form a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In this work, a superlattice-structured amorphous film made using Si, Mo, and Cu is fabricated by a simple and scalable magnetron sputtering process for the first time. This continuous and repetitive superlattice formation along the film thickness provides a homogeneous stress-strain distribution. The Mo-Cu layer in the superlattice acts as an inactive-conductive layer and as a backbone to handle the volume expansion of active Si upon cycling. This nano-functional superlattice approach enables harnessing the high energy density of Si while maintaining its structural stability. As a result, the electrode exhibits high specific capacity and capacity retention even at high cycling rates. The possible use of the film in a full cell is also evaluated by cycling it vs. the LiMn 1.5 Ni 0.5 O 4 cathode. The full cell maintains a stable capacity of about 900 mAh g anode -1 over 150 cycles, at ~600 mA g -1 rate. The remarkable performance of this nano-functional superlattice film is found to be promising as anodes for applications that require high energy, long calendar life, and excellent abuse tolerance such as electric vehicle batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Second Target Station Project (CHESS Technical Report)

CHESS is a direct geometry neutron spectrometer designed to detect and analyze weak signals intrinsic to small cross-sections (e.g., small mass, small magnetic moments or neutron absorbing materials). This instrument is optimized to enable unprecedented characterization of quantum materials, spin liquids, thermoelectric and battery materials, liquids, and soft matter. The ability to simultaneously measure dynamic processes over a wide energy range for very small samples will make CHESS the spectrometer of choice for the initial exploration of new materials. The broad dynamic range will also be well matched to measurements of relaxation processes and excitations in soft and biological matter. The 15 Hz repetition rate of STS enables use of multiple incident energies within a single source pulse, greatly expanding the information gained in a single experiment. An essential feature of CHESS is the capability for polarization analysis to separate nuclear from magnetic scattering or coherent from incoherent scattering in hydrogenous materials, and better understanding spin-anisotropic correlations. This instrument will employ advanced sample environments such as high-pressure cells, dilution refrigerators, high field cryo-magnets and polarization devices, as well as combinations of these, to solve problems at the forefront of materials research. CHESS will be one of the flagship spectrometers of the Second Target Station (STS), providing world leading capabilities.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Novel Organosulfur-Based Electrolytes for Safe Operation of High Voltage Li-ion Batteries over a Wide Operating Temperature

This project addresses the failure of conventional electrolytes and enables high-voltage operation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by developing a novel organosulfur-based electrolyte system. To achieve this goal, we first designed and synthesized new organosulfur solvents that functionalized with strong electron-withdrawing groups such as fluoroalkyl and cyano substituents. Through regio-specific molecular engineering, supported by theoretical calculations, we lowered the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels of these molecules to increase their anodic stability for high-voltage operation. We then optimized the formulation of the organosulfur-based electrolyte with additives, co-solvents and salts tailored to the newly synthesized solvent molecules. In parallel, we utilized advanced spectroscopic techniques—including in situ FTIR, EIS, and DEMS—to thoroughly elucidate the mechanisms of interaction between the electrolyte and electrode materials. Finally, we evaluated 2 Ah pouch cells under both normal and extreme conditions. Pouch cells with the newly developed electrolyte system demonstrated >90% capacity retention after 500 cycles under 4.5 V operating voltage, >80% capacity retention after 1000 cycles in coin cell level. In addition, the cells exhibited high safety and reliable operation capability over a wide temperature range from −30 °C to +45 °C.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

High Performance Flow Battery with Inexpensive Inorganic Reactants: DAYS Program (Final Technical Report)

RTRC’s DAYS projects focused on new flow battery (FB) chemistries for long duration energy storage: one that pairs aqueous polysulfide and manganese active materials in strongly alkaline electrolytes (S/Mn); another explores ligand-modified metal (LMM) chemistries in moderate pH electrolyte conditions. The S/Mn chemistry met durability targets by running for over 500 cycles and 1000 hours. Combined with this durability, power densities of up to 60 mW/cm2 at 80% round-trip efficiency, and exceptionally low-cost S and Mn active materials, the S/Mn FB offers a pathway to meeting the <5¢/kW-hr levelized cost of storage (LCOS) target first proposed by the DAYS Program and accepted by the DOE Energy Storage Grand Challenge. The LMM chemistry made impressive progress as well, including durability tests that retained performance over 600 hours of cycling. Cell optimization allowed this chemistry to operate as high as 500 mW/cm2 at 80% round-trip efficiency, nearly 10x the power density of S/Mn and comparable to the power density achieved in RTRC’s flow battery stacks using acidic vanadium battery solutions. This enabled the LMM chemistry to also offer a pathway to the <5¢/kW-hr LCOS DAYS and DOE targets. The promising results from the LMM chemistry have led to a recent DOE AMO award to advance the technology to a 5 kW, 20 kW-hr prototype.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

A novel polymeric lithicone coating for superior lithium metal anodes

Lithium metal (Li) is commonly regarded as the “holy grail” of rechargeable batteries and can serve as anodes for constituting various high-energy lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, it suffers from two notorious issues: (1) continuous formation of inhomogeneous solid electrolyte interphase and (2) Li dendritic growth. Here, in this study, we developed a novel polymeric lithicone via a new molecular layer deposition (MLD) process, using lithium tert-butoxide (LTB) and hydroquinone (HQ) as precursors. We revealed that such an MLD process enabled the resultant LiHQ to grow linearly in a highly controllable and cyclic mode at a growth rate of 4 Å cycle −1 . Furthermore, its low process deposition temperature of 150 °C made it possible to practice high-quality coatings over Li anodes directly. We demonstrated that, very compellingly, this LiHQ coating could protect Li anodes from corrosion and dendritic growth. As a consequence, this LiHQ coating has enabled Li||Li symmetric cells an extremely long cyclability up to 8000 Li-plating/stripping cycles without failure. More excitingly, we demonstrated that, coupled with LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 (NMC811) cathodes, the LiHQ-modified Li anodes could help the resultant Li||NMC811 realize a much better capacity retention and much longer cyclability. Thus, this study represents a strategic route for developing commercializeable LMBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Wood Carbon Based Single-Atom Catalyst for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

Low-cost and efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) bifunctional electrocatalysts are vital for the applications of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Given the high catalytic activity of single-atom catalysts (SACs), preparing SACs on a large scale for ZABs is desirable but remains challenging. Herein, in situ formation of single-atom Fe-N-C catalysts on plate wood-based porous carbon is achieved via a facile Lewis acid pretreatment and carbonization process. Lewis acid FeCl3 pretreatment on the cell wall of wood not only produces abundant microchannels but also successfully introduces atomically dispersed Fe-N active species into the hierarchical structure. Such uniformly dispersive SACs on the hierarchical structure enhance the ORR/OER performance and durability. A ZAB using the catalyst in the cathode shows a high power density (70.2 mW cm -2 , at quasi solid state) and long-term stability. This work provides a new path for the large-scale preparation of high-performance SACs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗