Investigation of Transition Metal Oxide Post-Spinels for Calcium-Ion Batteries

Tuesday, 11 October 2022: 09:20
Galleria 4 (The Hilton Atlanta)
P. Chando, J. Shellhamar, E. Wall, and I. Hosein (Syracuse University)
The dependence on lithium for rising global energy demand coupled with the scarcity of lithium necessitates the exploration of post-lithium strategies. Calcium-ion batteries are one such post-lithium strategy that can mitigate rising costs owing to calcium’s natural abundancy. A critical gap in this field is the lack of cathodes capable of intercalating calcium at high voltages and capacities while also retaining structural stability. The handful of candidates evaluated thus far have been plagued by low capacities and poor cycling performance due to intercalation–induced phase changes and instability. Transition metal oxide post–spinel–type materials have been identified as potential candidates for reversible Ca–ion storage owing to their crystal structures and high theoretical energy densities. However, experimental validation of these theoretical predictions remains largely unaddressed. In this work, post-spinel Calcium Iron Oxide (CaFe2O4) and Calcium Manganese Oxide (CaMn2O4) are explored as cathodes for calcium-ion batteries. The redox activity of each cathode is investigated using galvanostatic (GS) cycling while their structural stabilities are evaluated with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The use of GS in tandem with XRD and SEM provides insights into the evolution of crystal structure with Ca–ion–transport within each cathode. Our results reveal that these post–spinel systems can cycle with a reversible capacity of 56 mAh/g, making them promising cathode candidates for Ca–ion batteries and warrant further investigation.