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Electrosprayed NiCo2O4 nanoparticles for long cycle life and high-power Li-ion battery anode

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Abstract

Electrospraying-based synthesis of NiCo2O4 (NCO-ES) nanoparticles that exhibit long cycle life and high rate capability is reported. The results are compared with a conventionally prepared NiCo2O4 sample by direct annealing (NCO-DA). The structure and morphology of NCO-ES and NCO-DA nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm the size, morphology, structure, and surface chemistry of the as-prepared samples. Electrochemical testing established that the NCO-ES sample displayed enhanced Li-ion storage performance. The NCO-ES delivered a discharge capacity of almost 370 mAh/g at the end of 50 cycles at 1C rate (890 mA/g) while only 180 mAh/g was retained for the NCO-DA sample at the same condition. At a high rate of 5C (4450 mA/g), NCO-ES electrodes delivered a stabilized specific capacity of 225 mAh/g with almost 100% Coulombic efficiency over 1000 cycles. Its rate capability and cycle life were found to be superior to NCO-DA electrodes. The nanoscale grain boundaries in the NCO-ES sample enhanced the lithium-ion diffusion and enabled high rate capability. The impedance analysis at different stages of lithiation/delithiation indicates a lower impedance and better kinetics as one of the reasons for better performance of the NCO-ES sample.

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Acknowledgements

DS is thankful to the Science and Engineering Research Board, Govt. of India, for the award of Ramanujan Fellowship (Ref: SB/S2/RJN-100/2014). One of the authors (MB) acknowledges the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for providing financial assistance under the M. Tech project grant PG Training Programs (M. Tech Nanomedical Science) SR/NM/PG-01/2015. The authors thank Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham for infrastructural support.

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  1. Centre for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, 682 041, India

    Maria Benny, Binitha Gangaja, Shantikumar Nair & Dhamodaran Santhanagopalan

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  1. Maria Benny
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  2. Binitha Gangaja
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  3. Shantikumar Nair
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  4. Dhamodaran Santhanagopalan
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Correspondence to Dhamodaran Santhanagopalan.

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Benny, M., Gangaja, B., Nair, S. et al. Electrosprayed NiCo2O4 nanoparticles for long cycle life and high-power Li-ion battery anode. Ionics 24, 3375–3383 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-018-2520-8

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