Lithium Germanate (Li 2 GeO 3 ): A High-Performance Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A simple, cost-effective, and easily scalable molten salt method for the preparation of Li ₂ GeO ₃ as a new type of high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries is reported. The Li ₂ GeO ₃ exhibits a unique porous architecture consisting of micrometer-sized clusters (secondary particles) composed of numerous nanoparticles (primary particles) and can be used directly without further carbon coating which is a common exercise for most electrode materials. The new anode displays superior cycling stability with a retained charge capacity of 725 mAh g ^-1 after 300 cycles at 50 mA g ^-1 . The electrode also offers excellent rate capability with a capacity recovery of 810 mAh g ^-1 (94 % retention) after 35 cycles of ascending steps of current in the range of 25-800 mA g ^-1 and finally back to 25 mA g ^-1 . This work emphasizes the importance of exploring new electrode materials without carbon coating as carbon-coated materials demonstrate several drawbacks in full devices. Therefore, this study provides a method and a new type of anode with high reversibility and long cycle stability.
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