Engineering and Optimization of Silicon-Iron-Manganese Nanoalloy Electrode for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Battery.

The electrochemical performance of a battery is considered to be primarily dependent on the electrode material. However, engineering and optimization of electrodes also play a crucial role, and the same electrode material can be designed to offer significantly improved batteries. In this work, Si-Fe-Mn nanomaterial alloy (Si/alloy) and graphite composite electrodes were densified at different calendering conditions of 3, 5, and 8 tons, and its influence on electrode porosity, electrolyte wettability, and long-term cycling was investigated. The active material loading was maintained very high (~2 mg cm-2) to implement electrode engineering close to commercial loading scales. The densification was optimized to balance between the electrode thickness and wettability to enable the best electrochemical properties of the Si/alloy anodes. In this case, engineering and optimizing the Si/alloy composite electrodes to 3 ton calendering (electrode densification from 0.39 to 0.48 g cm-3) showed enhanced cycling stability with a high capacity retention of ~100% over 100 cycles.

Microstructures and electrochemical properties of Si-Ni-xTi alloys for anode materials.

The phase change due to varying content of titanium in Si-Ni-xTi alloys and its effect on the electrochemical behavior has been investigated. Specimens were prepared by melt-spinning to reduce the microstructure scale. Results showed that silicon particles of 50-100 nm diameter and dendrites of somewhat larger scale were formed in the Si-Ni-Ti alloys ribbons. The microstructure of Si70Ni15Ti15 alloy ribbons was composed of silicon particles finely dispersed in Si7Ni4Ti4 phase. The cycle performance was improved by the formation of TiSi2 or NiSi2 phase at the presence of Si7Ni4Ti4 phase, either of which combined with Si7Ni4Ti4 phase effectively accommodated the volume change of silicon particles during cycling. The reduced scale of silicon particles contributed to the enhanced cycle efficiency as well.

Microstructures and electrochemical properties of Si-xTiNi alloys for lithium secondary batteries.

The rapidly solidified Si-xTiNi (x = 0.2-0.45) alloy ribbons were fabricated via melt spinning process. The thickness of the melt-spun ribbons was about 12.5 microm, and the sound section was selected for the experiment. The microstructures of the ribbons were analyzed using XRD, FE-SEM, and HR-TEM: The primary silicon particles of 30 nm-100 n min diameter were finely dispersed in the inactive buffering matrix of Si7Ni4Ti4 phase. The charge/discharge energy capacity and electrochemical properties were significantly influenced by the relative ratio of NiTi to silicon. With increasing the total amount of Ni and Ti content up to 45 at%, the amount of Si7Ni4Ti4 phase increased and the cycle performance was improved. The Si7Ni4Ti4 phase acted as a buffer for the volume expansion/contraction of Si occurring during the alloying and dealloying, and it could prevent a significant deterioration in cycle performance of the battery.

The effect of Ni on the microstructures and electrochemical properties of Si-Ti base alloys for lithium secondary batteries.

This paper presents the microstructures and electrochemical properties of Si-Ti-Ni alloys of various compositions prepared by a rapid solidification process. Si-15Ti-(0-25 at%)Ni alloy ingots prepared by arc-melting was melt-spun to produce thin strip of -15 Om thickness. The Si-Ni-Ti alloy electrode were fabricated by mixing the active powdered materials (88 wt%) with ketjen black (4 wt%) as a conductive material and polyamide-imide binder (PAI, 8 wt.%) dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP). Results showed that the microstructures of melt-spun Si-Ti-Ni ribbons consist of silicon, TiSi2, Si7Ni4Ti4, and NiSi2 phases depending on the composition. As the content of nickel increased in silicon matrix, TiSi2 phase disappeared while Si7Ni4Ti4 and NiSi2 phases are generated. The cycle efficiency of Si65Ti15Ni20 and Si60Ti15Ni25 alloys was significantly improved because of the increased volume fraction of Si7Ni4Ti4 and NiSi2 phases and fine particulated silicon phase.

Simulated formation and flow of microemulsions during surfactant flushing of contaminated soil.

Contamination of groundwater resources by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) has become an issue of increasing environmental concern. This study investigated the formation and flow of microemulsions during surfactant flushing of NAPL-contaminated soil using the finite difference model UTCHEM, which was verified with our laboratory experimental data. Simulation results showed that surfactant flushing of NAPLs (i.e., trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene) from the contaminated soils was an emulsion-driven process. Formation of NAPL-in-water microemulsions facilitated the removal of NAPLs from contaminated soils. Changes in soil saturation pressure were used to monitor the mobilization and entrapment of NAPLs during surface flushing process. In general, more NAPLs were clogged in soil pores when the soil saturation pressure increased. Effects of aquifer salinity on the formation and flow of NAPL-in-water microemulsions were significant. This study suggests that the formation and flow of NAPL-in-water microemulsions through aquifer systems are complex physical-chemical phenomena that are critical to effective surfactant flushing of contaminated soils.