Pukyong National University

'Attention', high-capacity, high-speed cathodic material for electric car battery has been developed.
Research paper by Professor Ko Min-seong PKNU, was published in sister journals of 'Nature'.

 Professor ko Min-seong (Department of Metallurgical Engineering, PKNU) recently collaborated with Professor Jo Jae-pil of Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) to write a paper entitled "Fast-charging high-energy lithium-ion batteries via implantation of amorphous silicon nanolayer in edge-plane activated graphite anodes" in the online edition of Nature's sister magazine, 'Nature Communications'.

 Professor Ko has developed an 'edge activated graphite/silicon complex' that has a charge rate 1.5 times faster and a capacity increase of 50% than that of graphite used as an anode material in existing lithium ion batteries.

 Graphite has theoretically low usable capacity and cannot achieve high energy density, and there is a problem in that performance and safety are poor when charged at high speed.

 In this study, Professor Ko said that by activating the edges of graphite by nickel catalytic reduction method, it can greatly improve the fast-charging characteristics, while the inside and outside of graphite can be measured by monosilane chemical vapor deposition method with a nanometer (one nanometer is one billionth of a meter) thick amorphous silicon to maximize the energy density and to improve the stability of the battery by coating the graphite carbon protective layer.

 The 'edge activated graphite/silicon composite' developed in this way significantly increased the reaction rate with lithium ion during charging and discharging of the battery and decreased the moving distance of electron transfer and lithium ion, thereby greatly increasing the fast charging characteristic of the battery.

 Professor Ko said, "In order to commercialize an electric car that has recently attracted attention, it is essential to develop a high-capacity rechargeable battery with high-speed charging." and added, "I expect the cathode material developed this time can be used in various kinds of energy storage devices." <Pukyong Today>


△ Image of development process of edge activated graphite/silicon complex.