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HEIndividual fellowship2022–2024

NEW MONO 2D FUN GER · Atomically thin pristine germanane with diverse chemical functionalities for energy storage: sodium/lithium ion batteries

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
EU contribution
€150,439
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

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Results in brief

Atomically thin pristine germanane with diverse chemical functionalities for energy storage: sodium/lithium ion batteries

The main goal of this project was to investigate the electrochemical performance of functionalized germanane-carbon composites in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), complemented by select studies in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), to understand their structure-property relationships. Initially, the focus was on modifying surface chemistry using carbon materials and exploring their impact on the electronic properties. As the project progressed, the emphasis shifted toward synthesizing and evaluating novel 2D monoelemental materials, specifically silicane (SiH) and germanane (GeH), through a scalable and cost-effective process. We successfully synthesized innovative 2D SiH and GeH materials with various compositions (Si0.25Ge0.75H, Si0.50Ge0.50H, and Si0.75Ge0.25H) via chemical exfoliation of their Zintl phases. These materials displayed large surface areas, high mechanical flexibility, and fast electron mobility, positioning them as promising candidates for energy storage applications. Among the tested compositions, the Si0.50Ge0.50H electrode delivered the best performance, achieving a discharge capacity of 1059 mAh g−1 after 60 cycles at a current density of 75 mA g−1. To further understand the lithiation/delithiation mechanisms, we performed ex-situ electrochemical analysis on the Si0.50Ge0.50H material. The study provided key insights into the c-Li15(SixGe1-x)4 phase after lithiation and the a-Si0.50Ge0.50 phase after delithiation, offering new perspectives on the (de)lithiation processes in germanane-silicane alloys. These findings deepen our understanding of their electrochemical behavior and open up opportunities for future research. Overall, this project made significant advancements in synthesizing and characterizing germanane-based materials and highlighted their potential in energy storage applications, particularly for use in rechargeable batteries. These breakthroughs lay the groundwork for further exploration and application of 2D materials in next-generation battery technologies.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The use of novel two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion applications has nowadays become a hot research topic in material science. In particular, with the development of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage stations, the traditional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have encountered a plethora of challenges due to the huge demands of key markets (e.g. higher energy and power densities). Accordingly, a suitable approach to address these issues is to achieve the development of new electrode materials and alternative batteries (sodium-ion batteries, SIBs). In this context, one of the particularly promising candidate materials is functionalized germanane, which is expected to provide a high-capacity framework for sodium storage, since it possesses several attractive characteristics: to name a few, chemically and electronically active 2D structures, high mechanical flexibility, as well as fast electron mobility and conductivity. With the help of characterization techniques like X-Ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, this project aims to explore the structural and morphological features of functionalized germanane. The gained knowledge will extend our in depth understanding of the electrochemical activity of functionalized germanane. Aiming to achieve the production of high-capacity electrodes for applications in SIBs, the functionalized germanane materials will be further modified by carbon coating and exfoliation steps. The electrochemical performance of selected electrode materials will be evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic discharge/charge measurements.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • VYSOKA SKOLA CHEMICKO-TECHNOLOGICKA V PRAZE · PRAHACoordinatorCzechia

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union