MSE PhD Proposal - Naoki Nitta

Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Location: Love, room 295
Time: 11:00 am

Committee members:

Dr. Gleb Yushin, (Advisor) MSE

Dr. Faisal Alamgir, MSE

Dr. Thomas F. Fuller, ChBE

Dr. Paul A. Kohl, ChBE

Dr. Igor Luzinov, MSE (Clemson)

Title: Phosphorus Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract:

Although phosphorus is a toxic material, its potential properties as a Li-ion anode material are impressive in terms of performance related characteristics. Its gravimetric capacity is third after silicon and lithium itself, and its volumetric capacity is the highest of all. Furthermore, Li3P and black phosphorus are both believed to have fast Li transport. Thus there has been an increasing interest to develop the phosphorus anode. In this thesis, the processing-structure-property relationships of various phosphorus anodes will be investigated and the impact of the phosphorous and phosphorous-carbon microstructure, surface chemistry, porosity, binder properties, electrolyte composition and cycling regimes will be carefully studied to reveal the fundamental mechanisms governing various characteristics of phosphorous anodes. The interactions between the carbon and the phosphorus will be investigated using a variety of analysis methods. An infiltration driven method of developing a phosphorus carbon composite with controlled phase dimensions will also be explored. The polymer binder chemical and mechanical properties will be tested in multiple electrolyte solvent systems. The allotropes of phosphorus will be tested both for performance in realistic half-cell and full-cell settings and, their diffusion coefficients will be measured. Together, these analyses will provide insights into the properties of phosphorus and further the development of phosphorus anode materials for Li-ion batteries.