J. Electrochem. Soc. 2003, 150, A1102-A1107

 

Colloidal-Crystal-Templated Synthesis of Ordered Macroporous Electrode Materials for Lithium Secondary Batteries

 

Hongwei Yan^†§, Sergey Sokolov^†, Justin C. Lytle^†, Andreas Stein^†*

Fan Zhang^‡§, William H. Smyrl^‡§

 

^†Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

 

^‡Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

 

Abstract

 

This paper presents a general method of preparing three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) electrode materials, including both cathode materials (V₂O₅ and LiNiO₂) and an anode material (SnO₂). The method is based on templated precipitation of inorganic precursors within a colloidal crystal of PMMA spheres and subsequent chemical conversion. 3DOM electrodes possess several features of interest in the design of novel battery materials, such as high accessible surface areas, continuous networks, and short ion diffusion paths due to structural features on the nanometer scale. Optimal synthesis conditions and structural features of 3DOM electrode materials are described, on the basis of XRD, SEM, nitrogen adsorption, and chemical analysis.