EXAFS Studies of Wadsley-Roth Phase (W0.2V0.8)3O7 as a Battery Anode
Authors:
- Students:
- Nikita Agrawal
- Ariya Chang
- Miller Jackson
- Dominic Keeler
- Tristan Li
- Katelyn Luu
- John Penn
- Zhouqi Shao
- Teachers:
- Ryan Kruidenier
- Mentors:
- Otavio Marques (Illinois Institute of Technology)
- Carlo Segre (Illinois Institute of Technology, Advanced Photon Source, Sector 10-BM)
Advanced Photon Source Sector 10: MRCAT
Recent years have shown a demand for a more ecological and efficient alternative to alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries are a prime candidate, prompting research into electrode materials with the potential to store energy effectively and withstand numerous uses. Our anode of interest, (W0.2V0.8)3O7, would be an economical alternative to established niobium-based lithium-ion batteries due to the increased abundance of the primary component, vanadium. Additionally, Wadsley-Roth Phase crystallographic structures, of which our anode is an example, have been a promising material due to their unique properties of crystallographic shearing. Such structures allow for extraordinary lithium-ion diffusion while simultaneously maintaining structural integrity. After synthesizing our anode material and assembling coin cells, we utilized the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory in order to conduct EXAFS (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure) spectroscopy on our material, as well as carried out cycling tests at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Analysis of the data shows that (W0.2V0.8)3O7 maintains an efficient charge/discharge ratio while simultaneously withstanding any significant structural alterations over the course of one hundred cycles. This indicates that our anode is structurally sound and is a promising candidate for future research.