Wonbong Choi
University of North Texas, USA
Title: Carbon nanomaterials for advanced rechargeable batteries
Biography
Biography: Wonbong Choi
Abstract
Next-generation energy storage devices, such as Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Li-sulfur batteries (LiS), demand high energy, power and better safety. Conventional graphite anode falls short of fulfilling all these necessities. Carbon nanostructural materials (graphene and carbon nanotubes) have gained the spotlight as promising anode materials for energy storage; they exhibit unique physico-chemical properties such as large surface area, short Li+ ion diff usion length, and high electrical conductivity, in addition to their long-term stability. Among all published literatures in Li-ion battery, nanostructured carbon materials occupy ~70%. Such an impressive figure signifies high interest and promising future of this class of materials in energy storage devices and compels us to consider the involved issues deeply. Carbon-nanostructured materials have issues with low areal and volumetric densities for the practical applications in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and power grid systems, which demand higher energy and power densities. One approach to overcoming these issues is to design and apply a three-dimensional (3D) electrode accommodating a larger loading amount of active anode materials while facilitating Li+ ion diffusion. Furthermore, 3D nanocarbon frameworks can impart a conducting pathway and structural buff er to high-capacity non-carbon nanomaterials, which results in enhanced Li+ ion storage capacity. In this presentation, the current status of the design and fabrication of 3D carbon nanostructures will be reviewed. Our recent progress on 3D carbon nanomaterials for LIBs and Li-S batteries will be presented. Finally, the superior performance of 3D carbon nanotube-sulfur will be presented along with its mechanistic analysis.