Germanium and high energy storage lithium battery

Is germanium a good anode material for lithium ion batteries?

Germanium (Ge) is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity. However, its poor cycling stability associated with its large volume changes during discharging and charging processes are urgent problems to solve. This provides opportunities to engineer materials to overcome these issues.

How can germanium materials improve the electrochemical performance of a battery?

The preparation of germanium materials into nanoparticles , , nanowires , , nanotubes , , or nanofilms structures can significantly increase their specific surface area and lithium ion diffusion rate, thus improving the electrochemical performance of the battery.

Could germanium-based anodes meet the increasing requirements for batteries?

It is believed that germanium-based anodes could meet the increasing requirements for batteries with high power and energy densities. The histogram of the number of publications reflects the increased interest in germanium-based anodes in general during the last decade (Fig. 1).

What are the advantages of germanium based materials?

In addition to the high theoretical capacity, germanium-based materials have many other obvious advantages. 1) High lithium-ion diffusivity. Ge is 400 times faster in lithium ion diffusion than Si (at room temperature, 1.41 × 10 −14 cm 2 s −1 for Si and 6.51 × 10 −12 cm 2 s −1 for Ge ; at 150 °C, 3.1 × 10 −9 cm 2 s −1 for Ge) .

Are germanium-based anodes suitable for lithiation?

Germanium-based materials for LIBs have been demonstrated to possess ultrafast charge-discharge rate, high stability and robustness after lithiation. Several reviews focused on germanium-based anodes have been published recently [, , , , , ].

What are lithium ion batteries?

1. Introduction Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) with advanced properties, such as high energy and power densities, low cost, and long cycling span, have received tremendous consideration in the past decade [1, 2]. Nowadays, LIBs have been successfully used in portable electronic devices, power tools and electric vehicles.