Dynamics of Electrochemical Conversion of Nanoscale Metal-Metal Oxide Multilayer Architecture

Lithium-ion battery technology has progressed to the point where it is commonplace in today’s consumer electronics. However, future applications also demand electrode materials with increased performance over typical intercalation-based electrodes. Electrode materials that undergo conversion reactions can offer this increased performance by storing larger amounts of energy compared to intercalation materials, but suffer from energy inefficiencies during electrochemical cycling. [1] Inefficiencies due to first-cycle irreversibility and charge overpotentials especially hinder in conversion reaction anodes made from 3d transition metal oxides, as these anodes undergo significant structural changes during cycling. [2] Further structural characterization, especially under the dynamic conditions of applied bias, is necessary to understand the link between cycling behavior and energy inefficiencies found in the active material.