Session: 16-01-01: Poster Session: NSF-Funded Research (Grad & Undergrad)

Paper Number: 99883

99883 - Ceramic Fibers Derived From Organosilicon Polymers for Energy Storage 

Energy storage technologies are critical in the sense that they are used to power an application, such as electronic devices, electric vehicles, or electric grid energy storage systems. Electrochemical energy devices utilize reversible energy storage, in which chemical energy is converted into electrical energy and vice-versa and then repeated hundreds or thousands of times. Beyond traditional lithium-ion technology, a new generation of affordable, innovative, and lightweight battery systems will find their way into the ever-advancing era of cellphones, tablets, and laptops. Electric vehicles are going to replace the fuel power with batteries and supercapacitors to achieve better distance/amount of energy, resulting in cost-effective driving. Powerful batteries will completely revolutionize grid energy storage (e.g., customizable microgrids), and may permanently change the fundamental operation of the energy supply system. Fabrication of precursor-derived ceramic fibers as electrode for energy storage applications remains largely unexplored. In the early 1960s, an unusual polymer-to-ceramic conversion was used to develop silicon-based ceramic from organosilicon polymers that were denoted as polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs). Small-diameter silicon carbide-based ceramic fibers were produced, practical application of this ceramic processing route via thermolysis. Notable examples of polymer-to ceramic transformation technology include films/coatings, fibers, bulk ceramics, and non-oxide ceramics, which are all synthesized with tailored properties. PDCs offer high thermodynamic/chemical stability against electrochemical corrosion, good mechanical strength, tunable electrical conductivity and porosity and multiple sites in PDC microstructure for reversible alkali metal-ion storage, which qualify them as exceptional electrodes for electrochemical storage systems. Depending on the application, PDCs can be shaped into any desirable morphology, size, and structure, making them viable even for textile/wearable energy storage devices. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to acquire a high-performance electrode from just a single class of material as most have only one or a few of the desired properties. Within this work, three little known polymer-derived ceramics (PDC)-based fibers are being studied systemically as potential high-capacity electrode materials for electrochemical energy devices. We report fabrication of precursor-derived SiOC fibermats via one-step spinning from varying composition of siloxane oligomers followed by stabilization and pyrolysis at 800 °C. Electron microscopy, Raman, FTIR, XPS, and NMR spectroscopies reveal transformation from polymer to ceramic stages of the various SiOC ceramic fibers. The ceramic samples are few microns in diameter with free carbon phase embedded in the amorphous Si-O-C structure. Free carbon phase improves the electronic conductivity and provides major sites for ion storage, whereas Si-O-C structure contribute to high efficiency. The self-standing electrodes in lithium-ion battery half-cells delivers a charge capacity of 866 mAh g^-1_electrode with a high initial coulombic efficiency of 72%.

Presenting Author: Shakir Bin Mujib Kansas State University

Presenting Author Biography: PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Kansas State University

Authors:

Shakir Bin Mujib Kansas State University
Gurpreet Singh Kansas State University