(Invited) Atomic Layer Deposition of Nanophase Materials for Electrical Energy Storage

Batteries, as one of the most successful electrochemical electrical energy storage (EES) devices, hold great promise to boost widely implementation of renewable clean energies such as wind and solar power in three major domains: portable electronics, transport, and smart grids. To date, state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are dominant in consumer electronics, but still not applicable for electrical vehicles and smart grids in terms of energy density, cost, safety, and stability. In this context, huge research effort has been undergoing in pursuing cost-effective, high-energy, and robust batteries as next-generation EES devices.

In the past few years, atomic layer deposition (ALD), a traditional thin film technique in semiconductor industries, has been identified as a new thrust for advanced EES and demonstrated powerful capabilities in addressing existing difficulties with various advanced battery technologies. Benefited from its unique mechanism, ALD now has become a versatile and irreplaceable tool for developing a large range of novel nanophase materials. The resultant nanoscale materials are playing more and more important roles in seeking new clean energy solutions. In the first place, ALD enables to provide a large variety of high-efficient electrodes (anodes and cathodes) by nanoarchitecturing energy-related materials. Secondly, ALD is particularly capable of finely tailoring battery interfaces for improved battery safety and stability, distinguishing its unrivalled quality from other methods in accurately controlling sub-nano to nanoscale ultrathin films with the most desired properties. In addition, ALD shows notable potential in constructing superionic lithium conductors as solid-state electrolytes for reliable battery safety, featuring its exceptional ability in tuning materials composition and crystallinity of complex compounds. In this invited talk, we will summarize and illustrate the various demonstrable strategies of ALD for next-generation LIBs and beyond Li-ion technologies (e.g., lithium-sulfur, lithium-oxygen, and sodium-based batteries), and highlight the most successful accomplishments of ALD in batteries. We will also give some outlooks on ALD future research trends and its opportunities in helping accomplish our energy missions.