Battery electrode materials by electrospinning

Changbao Zhu, Yan Yu
Electrospinning represents a relatively simple and versatile method for generating fibrous mesostructures. In a typical process, a polymer solution or melt is injected from a small nozzle under the influence of an electric field as strong as several kV/cm. The development of electrostatic charges on the surface of a liquid droplet induces the formation of a jet, which is subsequently stretched to form a continuous ultrathin fiber.

In the past decades the electrospinning technique was mainly used to produce polymer fibers. Only recently more and more composite fibers are prepared by this technique. In our group, we obtain by electrospinning nanowires or nanotubes of metal, oxides and sulfides, but also of more complex materials such as LiFePO₄. The special 1D morphology of these materials used in lithium based batteries can provide great benefit to the electrochemical performance.

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Y. Yu, L. Gu, C. Zhu, P. A. van Aken, and J. Maier  Tin Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Porous Multichannel Carbon Microtubes: Preparation by Single-Nozzle Electrospinning and Application as Anode Material for High Performance Li-based Batteries Journal of the American Chemical Society 131 (44), 15984–15985 (2009). DOI: 10.1021/ja906261c

Y. Yu, L. Gu, C. Wang, A. Dhanabalan, P. A. van Aken, and J. Maier Encapsulation of Sn@carbon Nanoparticles in Bamboo-like Hollow Carbon Nanofibers as an Anode Material in Lithium-Based Batteries Angewandte Chemie International Edition 48 (35), 6485–6489 (2009). DOI: 10.1002/anie.200901723