Discover the revolutionary research, presenting a new strategy for accelerating ion diffusion kinetics in electrochemical energy storage technology opening new possibilities for 4131energy applications.
How We Addressed Capacity
The desire for a globally increasing demand of electrode materials in electrochemical reactions, scientists are facing the challenge to maintain an efficient Ions path while accommodating ultra-high loadings. This is important for improving the electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs) in terms of capacity and energy density [1–3].
Conventional strategies usually concentrate on three-dimensional (3D) structure electrodes with high porosity and low tortuosity, which is advantageous for the performance of different EESDs []. But, the action also implies longer ion diffusion path and higher concentration gradient of ions in comparison to two electrodes; essentially worsening the ion diffusion kinetics as a package back at these thick printed 3D electrodes. To address this challenge, new electrode architecture designs that are capable of maintaining the large surface area, a high electrical conductivity and low tortuosity but with small electrode gaps should be created or developed which could facilitate rapid ion diffusion at device level.
Novel Interpenetrated Architectures with Potential
Yat Li and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Cruz have come up with a new tactic to solve this issue: conducting electrodes that are structured as an interpenetrated network. In this design, we propose an innovative idea that arises from the lattice structure of a Kelvin unit body cell type FCC lattice, which has two sublattice electrodes per unit cell.
The team 3D printed polymer interpenetrated structures, with different unit cell numbers, by making use of liquid commercial resin as a precursor through stereolithography (SLA). For introducing conductivity to the polymer substrate, they used a combination of electroless plating approaches: sensitization with Sn2+ ions, redox response with Pd2+ions as well as formation of conductive Ni-P compounds (MCX RK ND).
The greatest advantage of this setup allows for the electrodes to be addressed independently, allowing in-situ electrodeposition of energy storage materials (ie. MnO2/PEDOT composites, and metallic zinc) on each electrode.
The method has a number of things going for it; It appears to shorten the length of major diffusion pathways, lowers the concentrate gradient that ions have to fight against between electrodes and removes separators, which are problematic materials to begin with as they can abrade down and cause short-circuits. In addition, the size of features and the number of the entangled units during printing can be engineered to tune both surface area and ion diffusion.
Conclusion
The interpenetrated electrode structure developed by researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz could drive advances in electrochemical energy storage. The new method removes these obstacles by increasing the kinetics of ion diffusion within the electrodes and, hence, enhances the performance especially during low-temperature conditions. To deposit energy storage materials with selectivity and scalable feature size, this method is promising in versatility for further improvements and practical applications of much higher-performance, larger-capacity energy storage devices. This pioneering research emphasises the impact of novel structural designs in meeting the increased worldwide necessity for advanced electrochemical energy storage applications.
