August 1, 2017 - An Oak Ridge National Laboratory–led team discovered that vanadium dioxide in a crystalline thin film makes an outstanding electrode for lithium-ion batteries. Theory and computation predicted a high capacity for lithium storage, which experiments confirmed with tests in coin cells. Advanced microscopy proved lithium ions pack into a rigid framework, and ions speed through sites favorable for their adsorption which are abundant along the open channels. Because the material is difficult to grow, it had never been tested. ORNL’s Ho Nyung Lee and his team used an advanced synthesis technique to fabricate thin-film crystals and demonstrated that they remained stable even after numerous electrochemical charge/discharge cycles. “The research provides a design strategy for more efficient, long-lived, miniaturized ionic conductors,” said Panchapakesan Ganesh of ORNL, who predicted vanadium dioxide’s theoretical capacity and lithium ion pathways. “We’re developing novel materials and architectures to provide energy solutions for future technologies,” Lee said.
