Nanostructured Film Electrodes for Efficient Li-ion Intercalations

Boosted by the increasing demand for clean and portable energy resources, there have been tremendous efforts being made in the energy harvesting and energy storage materials and devices, such as solar cells, fuel cells, Li-ion batteries etc. Since its first commercial debut in 1991, Li-ion battery has achieved significant progress in energy storage performances. The development of nanostructured electrode material is regarded as one of the key potentials for the further advancement in Li-ion batteries. This paper highlights our recent studies in the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured electrode materials for high-performance Li-ion batteries. The main focuses are on the binder-less and additive-free vanadium oxide films and lithium iron phosphate - carbon nanocomposite films via sol-gel processing. Enhanced Li⁺ intercalation capacities, improved rate capabilities and better cyclic stability were achieved by architecting micro- or nanostructure, controlling materials crystallinity and introducing desired defects on surface and/or in bulk.