Molten salt electrosynthesis of Cr2GeC nanoparticles as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Zhongya Pang; Feng Tian; Xiaolu Xiong; Jinjian Li; Xueqiang Zhang; Shun Chen; Fei Wang; Guangshi Li; Shujuan Wang; Xing Yu; Qian Xu; Xionggang Lu; Xingli Zou

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1143202

Molten salt electrosynthesis of Cr₂GeC nanoparticles as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Front Chem. 2023 Feb 17:11:1143202. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1143202. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhongya Pang^{1

2}, Feng Tian^{1

2}, Xiaolu Xiong³, Jinjian Li^{1

2}, Xueqiang Zhang^{1

2}, Shun Chen^{1

2}, Fei Wang^{1

2}, Guangshi Li^{1

2}, Shujuan Wang^{1

2}, Xing Yu^{1

2}, Qian Xu^{1

2}, Xionggang Lu^{1

2

4}, Xingli Zou^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
² Center for Hydrogen Metallurgy Technology, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
⁴ School of Materials Science, Shanghai Dianji University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The two-dimensional MAX phases with compositional diversity are promising functional materials for electrochemical energy storage. Herein, we report the facile preparation of the Cr₂GeC MAX phase from oxides/C precursors by the molten salt electrolysis method at a moderate temperature of 700°C. The electrosynthesis mechanism has been systematically investigated, and the results show that the synthesis of the Cr₂GeC MAX phase involves electro-separation and in situ alloying processes. The as-prepared Cr₂GeC MAX phase with a typical layered structure shows the uniform morphology of nanoparticles. As a proof of concept, Cr₂GeC nanoparticles are investigated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which deliver a good capacity of 177.4 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C and excellent cycling performance. The lithium-storage mechanism of the Cr₂GeC MAX phase has been discussed based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This study may provide important support and complement to the tailored electrosynthesis of MAX phases toward high-performance energy storage applications.

Keywords: Cr2GeC; MAX phase; energy storage; lithium-ion batteries; molten salt electrosynthesis.

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 52022054, 51974181, and 52004157), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no. 2022M712023), the Shanghai Postdoctoral Excellence Program (no. 2021159), the Shanghai Sailing Program (no. 21YF1412900), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (no. 2022YFC2906100), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (no. 21DZ1208900), and the Iron and Steel Joint Research Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation and China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited (no. U1860203).