Dissertation
Applying Abundant Natural Proteins to Stabilize Lithium Anode for High-Performance Lithium-Metal Batteries
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006301
Abstract
Li-metal batteries (LMBs) with ultrahigh theoretical energy densities make them promising for advanced rechargeable batteries. Despite the potential high performance, the highly reactive Li metal anode suffers from critical issues related to the dendrite growth, which shorten the cycle life and cause safety hazards of LMBs. To address these issues, modifying the surface of Li metal with functional materials is considered as an effective solution. Natural proteins are abundant polymers composed of numerous amino acids with abundant polar/nonpolar and charged/uncharged functional groups, providing diverse interactions with ions/molecules. Appropriately denatured proteins may form proper interactions with battery components (electrolyte, separator and Li plate), which enable desirable Li/electrolyte interface and guide the deposition of Li+ in LMBs for eliminating dendrite growth. This motivates us to apply protein to advance performance of LMBs in this project.
This dissertation includes three parts. The first part describes the development of Li-based batteries, challenges of LMBs and proposed solutions. The second part provides the studies of protein utilization on stabilizing Li anode for high-performance LMBs, which are included in Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. In Chapter 2, a zein-enabled protective film with simultaneous enhancement in flexibility, modulus and adhesion strength is fabricated. The protective film is able to accommodate the volume change, reduce the side reactions, and homogenize the ion deposition of Li anode. In Chapter 3, a protein coating is created to stabilize Li anode, regulate Li+ transport, and resolve the Li dendrite growth for LMBs. The protein coating increases the wettability with electrolyte, reduces the Li/electrolyte side reactions, and significantly suppresses the Li dendrite formation. In Chapter 4, zein is exploited as an electrolyte additive to stabilize Li anode. The denatured zein is involved in the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), guiding Li+ deposition and repairing the cracked SEI. In Chapter 5, the formation and evolution of the protein-modified SEIs on Li anodes are investigated. The stand-still processes of LMBs greatly impact the formation/evolution of SEI and the resulting battery performance. In the third part (Chapter 6), the critical conclusions drawn from the studies are summarized and the outlook is proposed.
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Details
- Title
- Applying Abundant Natural Proteins to Stabilize Lithium Anode for High-Performance Lithium-Metal Batteries
- Creators
- Chenxu Wang
- Contributors
- Weihong (Katie) Zhong (Advisor)Jin Liu (Advisor)Min Kyu Song (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 228
- Identifiers
- 99901086434001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation