Ammonium Fluoride-Mediated Synthesis of Anhydrous Metal Fluoride/Mesoporous Carbon Nanocomposites for High Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes > Publication | UNIST YK RESEARCH

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Ammonium Fluoride-Mediated Synthesis of Anhydrous Metal Fluoride/Mesoporous Carbon Nanocomposites for High Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes
Author
Jinyoung Chun, Changshin Jo, Sunhye Sahgong, Min Gyu Kim, Eunho Lim, Dong Hyeon Kim, Jongkook Hwang, Eunae Kang, Keun Ah Ryu, Yoon Seok Jung, Youngsik Kim, and Jinwoo Lee
Journal
Applied Materials & Interfaces
Vol
8(51)
Page
35180-35190
Year
2016
Metal fluorides (MFx) are one of the most attractive cathode candidates for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high conversion potentials with large capacities. However, only a limited number of synthetic method, generally involving highly toxic or inaccessible reagents, currently exist, which has made it difficult to produce well-designed nanostructures suitable for cathodes; consequently, harnessing their potential cathodic properties has been a challenge. Herein, we report a new bottom-up synthetic method utilizing ammonium fluoride (NH4F) for the preparation of anhydrous MFx(CuF2, FeF3, and CoF2)/mesoporous carbon(MSU-F-C) nanocomposites, whereby a series of metal precursor nanoparticles pre-confined in mesoporous carbon were readily converted to anhydrous MFx through simple heat treatment with NH4F under solventless conditions. We demonstrate the versatility, less-toxicity, and efficiency of this synthetic method, and, using XRD analysis, propose a mechanism for the reaction. All MFx/MSU-F-C prepared in this study exhibited superior electrochemical performances, through conversion reactions, as the cathode for LIBs. Especially, FeF3/MSU-F-C maintained a capacity of 650 mAh g−1,FeF3 across 50 cycles, which is ~90% of its initial capacity. We expect that this facile synthesis method will trigger further research into the development of various nanostructured MFx for use in energy storage and other applications.