KAUST, Aramco team develops 3D hierarchically porous MoS2 foam as high-rate and stable lithium-ion battery anode
23 December 2022
Researchers at KAUST and Aramco have developed a three-dimensional molybdenum disulfide foam with a structural hierarchy across seven orders of magnitude. The foam provides an interpenetrating network for efficient charge transport, rapid ion diffusion, and mechanically resilient and chemically stable support for electrochemical reactions.
The extraordinary electrochemical performance of molybdenum disulfide foam outperforms most reported molybdenum disulfide-based Lithium-ion battery anodes and state-of-the-art materials. An open-access paper on the work is published in Nature Communications.
The self-assembling foam features a complex hierarchical structure that allows it to repeatedly soak up and then release large quantities of lithium ions with ease. The material could become a key component of fast-charging, long-lived lithium batteries.
(a) The manufacturing scheme illustrates the EHD setup and the structural evolution of the MoS2 foam. (b) Demonstration of up-scalable manufacturing of MoS2 foam on a 4-inch copper (Cu) substrate that comprises structural hierarchies over seven orders of magnitude, including (c) interconnected porous networks, (d) architected structure, (e) vortical truss unit cell, (f) nanopores and struts, (g) intertwined MoS2 sheets, (h) tears and holes on the basal plane, and (i) S vacancies. Wei et al.
The inorganic substance molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been earmarked as a promising potential lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode material. Typically, however, MoS2 consists of atomically thin 2D layers, stacked like sheets of paper. This brittle, layered structure lacks electrochemical stability and limits lithium-ion diffusion into and out of the material, explains Xuan Wei, lead author.
The team sought to convert 2D MoS2 nanosheets into a robust 3D material suited to battery anode use. After testing dozens of conditions, the team eventually hit upon a setup in which the nanosheets form an organized stable 3D foam.
The foam possesses a highly ordered hierarchical structure, from nanoscopic structural elements up to characteristics visible to the naked eye. These features were essential to the material’s excellent battery anode performance, which the team showed maintained a high lithium capacity over time. LIB anodes must withstand repeated swelling and shrinking as a large amount of lithium is absorbed and then released over each battery discharge/recharge cycle.
Resources
Wei, X., Lin, CC., Wu, C. et al. (2022) “Three-dimensional hierarchically porous MoS2 foam as high-rate and stable lithium-ion battery anode.” Nat Commun 13, 6006 doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33790-z
Lots of molybdenum based Li-ion batteries lately.
I wonder why investing in chemistries that can't scale...
Posted by: peskanov | 23 December 2022 at 02:58 AM
Maybe this research is more scalable.
“ Iron Sulfide Na2FeS2 as Positive Electrode Material with High Capacity and Reversibility Derived from Anion–Cation Redox in All-Solid-State Sodium Batteries”
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.202203383
Posted by: Gryf | 23 December 2022 at 08:49 AM
The company which has caught my eye over the last year or so is SVolt.
As the biggest battery company in the world in CATL, it is sometimes a bit difficult to sort out which new and newish techs are going into which product, especially when your Mandarin is as fluent as mine! ;-)
I am particularly interested in their cobalt free designs, which may or may not be what is going to go into Stellantis's cars, I can't work it out, not a big name in the US with only FIAT there, but massive in Europe.
Here are a couple of links, which hopefully will get past the anti spam here:
https://insideevs.com/news/424185/svolt-cobalt-free-li-ion-battery/
https://insideevs.com/news/520236/stellantis-use-svolt-batteries-2025/
Over the last two or three days, there has also been releases about their 'armour' batteries, ultra safe LFP, where they reckon that they have also managed decent range.
I dare not post links, or the anti spam will certainly kick in, but a quick google should turn up what they have released
Posted by: Davemart | 23 December 2022 at 12:30 PM
Sorry, sVolt is a spin off from Great Wall Motors, not CATL, with whom they had a long running dispute, now settled, I believe.
Posted by: Davemart | 23 December 2022 at 12:35 PM
@Gryf,
this chemistry is very interesting indeed. A solid-state Na battery using metal anode and cheap material for both the cathode and separator. High density, and seems to have a nice cycle life.
Unfortunately it seems to be a hot battery, it works ok at 60 degree Celsius.
Hot batteries are nice, but usually have a hard time competing with room temperature batteries. They also have challenges in calendar life.
Posted by: peskanov | 24 December 2022 at 01:31 AM
@Davemart,
I have no details about svolt tech. All info I see:
- LFP type cathode
- Sulfur bassed electrolyte (solid, liquid, gel? Is it a solid or semi solid battery?).
- No info on the separator. My main contention about solid state are separators; most of them seem to be made with unicorn horns.
Posted by: peskanov | 24 December 2022 at 01:36 AM
@peskanov:
The trouble I have with the massive Chinese battery companies is that they give info our usually in their press releases about everything they are doing, without specifying what they are putting into what, when they are looking at a whole range of chemistries, structural strategies, etc.
I tended to ignore them on those grounds, but it is clear that that is not a viable strategy, as they are right up there with many innovations, including off the top of my head BYD's blade structures and CATLs sodium technologies.
Since Stellantis is co-operating building out factories for one of their techs, on a very tight timeline, and have authorised it for their cars it is plain that this one is near term stuff, which likely does not use cobalt (?) although it doesn't look like one of the solid state jobs, as it is too early, would be my guess.
I was in communication with the guy in the article I linked at Inside EVs, and he has not been able to nail what is going on any more closely either.
So if you come across anything more informative, please let the rest of us know!
Posted by: Davemart | 24 December 2022 at 05:02 AM
@Davemart,
I have not read anything interesting about svolt, just generic info and hype. If somebody finds svolt patents, I could take a peek. Patents are obfuscated, but sometimes you can find specific features about the cells.
Posted by: peskanov | 24 December 2022 at 02:05 PM
@peskanov:
Yeah, exactly why I tried to avoid looking too closely at what the Chinese companies are up to, lack of backed up info.
But they are simply too big to ignore, with sVolt right up there with CATL and BYD, and clearly have some genuine stuff going on.
They have been put back a bit, unsurprisingly with covid and lockdowns/supply chain disruptions, but now have a battery factory open in southern China, with two more being built in Germany, one in the old Vestas plant:
https://svolt-eu.com/en/svolt-builds-additional-battery-cell-factory-in-brandenburg-germany-for-european-market/
Presumably all this is their cobalt free lithium tech, NMX, and here is the sparse details I have on it:
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/02/20210213-svolt.html
They are already rolling around in some Chinese cars, the Great Walls Motors Cherry Cat to start with, whatever that is.
Posted by: Davemart | 24 December 2022 at 10:10 PM
@peskanov:
I have dug out a bit more technical stuff, not much, but something:
https://www.svolt.cn/en/hexin_cailiao.php
Says they have applied for 46 international patents, so you or Gryf who are clever about such stuff might be able to dig something out and make sense of it.
It is above my pay grade.
But if the specs are right, then it seems a decent way of eliminating cobalt whilst retaining good energy density, and slightly improving costs.
Since they are in the process of building several factories to make them, it seems that they at least think it is the real thing, and it is encouraging that it is pushing cars around right now, not sitting on a design sheet somewhere.
Posted by: Davemart | 24 December 2022 at 10:16 PM
@peskanov:
Perhaps I should clarify why I find Svolt potentially exciting.
Many moons ago I was in cost a works accounting, one of the guys just bright enough to know that when the engineers start to get excited, hang on to your wallet, as it tends to get expensive!;-)
So I tend to be pretty unmoved, for the moment at least, with tales of super duper energy densities, solid state and whatever.
But show me something that might save 5-10%in costs, decent cycle life, and more earth abundant materials making ramping easier, and cost and works guys tend to crack something as near as they ever get to a smile!
Weird I know, but there we are........
Posted by: Davemart | 24 December 2022 at 10:47 PM
@Davemart,
so they are producing nickel-manganese right now, and they have an experimental solid state LFP in the works. Am I getting it right?
I am not very excited about nickel based chemistries (even without cobalt); nickel has a long, consistent history of being too much in demand and going up in price. It's found in few places (Russia, Indonesia, Philippines, Canada) and much of the resource in found in the seabed.
Nickel is about 40 times more abundant than lithium; however, a li-ion battery contains much more nickel than lithium. And nickel is demanded in a ton of industries (unlike lithium).
In the long run, cobalt and nickel should be removed from the equation. Lithium too, at least for stationary batteries.
Their solid state LFP sounds interesting to me, though.
Posted by: peskanov | 25 December 2022 at 02:00 AM
@Dave: "when the engineers start to get excited, hang on to your wallet, as it tends to get expensive!;-)"
Brilliant!
Happy Xmas to one and all from Dublin
Posted by: mahonj | 25 December 2022 at 02:29 AM
@peskanov:
The info I linked here:
https://www.svolt.cn/en/hexin_cailiao.php
reckons that the proportion of nickel in NMx is actually less than in NCM811
To be clear this seems to me a stop gap solution, with solid state, sulphur, whatever, likely to take over at some point.
But you still have to get there, and the interested parties have sold a lot of hogwash in how fast battery costs can be reduced.
As Hyundai said a couple of years ago, costs for batteries had more or less bottomed for a whlle, with process innovations balanced by rising materials
That impasse is not going to last forever, but massive batteries at any cost not for the elite and mandated, subsidised are still on the far horizon.
IOW, Toyota is right, and a far smaller battery in a plug in hybrid etc solution is for some time the practical and economic way to go.
Your basis critique of the use of nickel is of course well made though.
Posted by: Davemart | 25 December 2022 at 04:24 AM
Jim:
And a Merry Christmas to you and all!
Posted by: Davemart | 25 December 2022 at 04:26 AM
@peskanov: I agree on the PHEVs. It is a lot more use to have 10 PHEVs with 8 kWh as opposed to 9 ICEs and 1 BEV with 80 kWh.
8 kWh should give you ~25 miles which would give 9100 miles E driving per year, assuming you charge fully once per day.
A further refinement would be the ability to size your PHEV battery from say 15 - 6 kWh based on your typical daily usage.
+ in sunny climes, you could have a solar roof option, which might give a further 3 kWh if you could park outside. (5 hours x 600w). or maybe that is just adding cost and complexity.
However, I agree that huge battery BEVs are not the way for mass transportation.
Posted by: mahonj | 25 December 2022 at 06:57 AM
@mahonj,
I think you are confusing me with Davemart. He opposes big battery EVs, at least with current technology.
I like big battery BEVs; imho market pressure an competition is what is needed today to develop cheaper batteries. I don't really mind growing pains like temporal price risings (like lithium), etc...
I also like big BEVs for mass transport.
Posted by: peskanov | 25 December 2022 at 09:43 AM
@Davemart,
my trouble with Toyota is that they not pushing plug-in hybrids. I don't care that much about their lack of BEVs...however, they are dragging their feet with plug-in hybrids. I dislike that.
Merry christmas to you and everybody reading greencarcongress!
Posted by: peskanov | 25 December 2022 at 09:46 AM
Hi peskanov:
My view is that supply chain disruptions have meant that Toyota have not been able to push on as far and fast as they would like with rolling out PHEV hybrids, but they have several in the works:
https://www.nextgreencar.com/plugin-hybrid-cars/make-model/toyota/
IMO plug in hybrids have the potential to offer a seamless transition to fuel cell plug in hybrids, so nullifying arguments about the efficiency of the hydrogen route, as batteries can do what they do well, and fuel cells what they do, ie long distance.
Hydrogen does not sour in the tank either, so no range worries, ever.
I am waiting Kubagen's updates on progress in moving manganese hydride from the benchtop to production, as it potentially offers a solution to balancing exothermic and endothermic reactions in hydrides, all at relatively low pressure, about the same as a scuba tank.
If they pull it off, it would cost a fraction of the KWh cost of a big battery, and use way less resources.
A separate group from the University of South Wales and Quebic Hydro are also trying that reaction.
Will it work?
Dunno, but as game changing as any fancy solid state battery if so, or perhaps more so.
Posted by: Davemart | 25 December 2022 at 10:31 AM
@peskanov:
Just to be clear, it seems to me perfectly possible that more energy dense batteries made from earth abundant materials, or even through the road charging, may end up as the leader.
I just think that it is way to early to write off plug ins, or FCEVs, and that big batteries are not the only potential solution.
It is usually not really about what is the 'ultimate' solution, as way back when just about everyone realised that electric was a far better notion than ICE, but getting to enough energy density and cost was a different matter.
Lots of money can be chucked away trying to jump the gun, which has not bothered big battery advocates, as most of it has been other people's.
Posted by: Davemart | 25 December 2022 at 10:53 AM
@peskanov
I dug this out on Svolts' solid state tech:
https://www.electrive.com/2022/08/31/svolt-now-producing-prototype-solid-state-cells/
Kilograms is one heck of a way from production ready in volume.
Posted by: Davemart | 25 December 2022 at 12:35 PM
@Davemart,
yep, it seems their solid state battery is still in the works.
Past decades history shows one should be a bit skeptic with solid state electrolytes, even when built with common materials.
Both the NaS battery and the Zebra one used supercheap and common alumina. Unfortunately they needed it to be crystallized in a very specific way (beta alumina). And that part made it expensive.
BYD and Tesla are aware of all solid state development and they don't seem to care. I believe they think none of these technologies are mature enough to even consider rolling them commercially.
Posted by: peskanov | 26 December 2022 at 01:32 AM
@peskanov:
I see solid state as a premium product initially, likely out to around 2030.
Manufacturing etc is tricky, with even the gold standard in production engineering, which whatever detractors imagine, remains Toyota, making no bones about the obstacles.
Solid power or Quantumscape might come from leftfield, but as far as I am currently aware we are some time off from the notion that solid state will enable cost reductions, however the materials costs compare.
That does not mean that they won't find a premium niche, where their high energy density and safety pay for the extra cost.
In the case of Toyota, aviation and their association with Joby springs to mind.
Of course, I might be wrong! ;-)
Posted by: Davemart | 26 December 2022 at 05:30 AM