Synthesis and Electrochemical Properties of Bi2MoO6/Carbon Anode for Lithium-Ion Battery Application

Abstract

High capacity electrode materials are the key for high energy density Li-ion batteries (LIB) to meet the requirement of the increased driving range of electric vehicles. Here we report the synthesis of a novel anode material, Bi₂MoO₆/palm-carbon composite, via a simple hydrothermal method. The composite shows higher reversible capacity and better cycling performance, compared to pure Bi₂MoO₆. In 0-3 V, a potential window of 100 mA/g current density, the LIB cells based on Bi₂MoO₆/palm-carbon composite show retention reversible capacity of 664 mAh·g^-1 after 200 cycles. Electrochemical testing and <i>ab initio</i> density functional theory calculations are used to study the fundamental mechanism of Li ion incorporation into the materials. These studies confirm that Li ions incorporate into Bi₂MoO₆ via insertion to the interstitial sites in the MoO₆-layer, and the presence of palm-carbon improves the electronic conductivity, and thus enhanced the performance of the composite materials.