Magnesiophilic Graphitic Carbon Nanosubstrate for Highly Efficient and Fast-Rechargeable Mg Metal Batteries

Hee-Dae Lim; Dae Hyun Kim; Sunwoo Park; Min Eui Lee; Hyoung-Joon Jin; Seungho Yu; Si Hyoung Oh; Young Soo Yun

doi:10.1021/acsami.9b13447

Magnesiophilic Graphitic Carbon Nanosubstrate for Highly Efficient and Fast-Rechargeable Mg Metal Batteries

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Oct 23;11(42):38754-38761. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b13447. Epub 2019 Oct 15.

Authors

Hee-Dae Lim¹, Dae Hyun Kim^{1

2}, Sunwoo Park³, Min Eui Lee⁴, Hyoung-Joon Jin³, Seungho Yu¹, Si Hyoung Oh¹, Young Soo Yun^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Energy Storage Research , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Hwarang-ro 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu , Seoul 02792 , South Korea.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Seoul National University of Science and Technology , Seoul 139-743 , South Korea.
³ Department of Polymer Science and Engineering , Inha University , Incheon 22212 , South Korea.
⁴ Carbon Composite Materials Research Center, Institute of Advanced Composite Materials , Korea Institute of Science and Technology , 92 Chudong-ro, Bongdong-eup, Wanju-gun , Jeollabuk-do 55324 , South Korea.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering , Kangwon National University , Samcheok 25913 , South Korea.
⁶ KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology , Korea University , 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu , Seoul 02841 , South Korea.

PMID: 31566363
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b13447

Abstract

The high volumetric energy density of rechargeable Mg batteries (RMBs) gives them a competitive advantage over current Li ion batteries, which originates from the high volumetric capacity (∼3833 mA h cm^-3) of bivalent Mg metal anodes (MMAs). On the other hand, despite their importance, there are few reports on research strategies to improve the electrochemical performance of MMAs. This paper reports that catalytic carbon nanosubstrates rather than metal-based substrates, such as Mo, Cu, and stainless steel, are essential in MMAs to improve the electrochemical performance of RMBs. In particular, three-dimensional macroporous graphitic carbon nanosubstrates (GC-NSs) with high electrical conductivities can accommodate Mg metal with significantly higher rate capabilities and Coulombic efficiencies than metal substrates, resulting in a more stable and longer-term cycling performance over 1000 cycles. In addition, while metal-based substrates suffered from undesirable Mg peeling-off, homogeneous Mg metal deposition is well-guided in GC-NSs owing to the better affinity of the Mg²⁺ ion. These results are supported by density functional theory calculations and ex-situ characterization.

Keywords: Mg battery; carbon substrate; magnesiophilic; metal anode; nanosubstrate.