Implementation of a real option in a sustainable supply chain: an empirical study of alkaline battery recycling

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as a key approach for enterprises seeking to become environmentally sustainable. This paper aims to evaluate and describe the advantages of a GSCM approach by analysing practices and performance consequences in the battery recycling sector. It seeks to integrate works in supply chain management (SCM), environmental management, performance management and real option (RO) theory into one framework. In particular, life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to evaluate the environmental impact of a battery recycling plant project, and life cycle costing (LCC) is applied to evaluate its economic impact. Firms, also understanding the relevance of GSCM, have often avoided applying the green principles because of the elevated costs that such management involved. Such costs could also seem superior to the potential advantages since standard performance measurement systems are internally and business focused; for these reasons, we consider all the possible value deriving also by uncertainty associated to a green project using the RO theory. This work is one of the few and pioneering efforts to investigate GSCM practices in the battery recycling sector.     

Structural, electrochemical and thermal properties of LiNi0.8−yTiyCo0.2O2 as cathode materials for lithium ion battery

Multiple substitution compounds with the formula LiNi_0.8−yTi_yCo_0.2O₂ (0≤y≤0.1) were synthesized by sol-gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent. The effects of titanium substitution on the structural, electrochemical and thermal properties of the cathode materials are investigated. A solid solution phase (R-3m) is observed in the range of 0≤y≤0.1 for the titanium-doped materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that there are Ni³⁺, Ni²⁺, Co³⁺, Co²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ five transition metal ions in titanium-doped materials. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicates that titanium substitution changes the materials’ structure with different cationic distribution. An increase of the Ni/Co amount in the 3a Li site is found with the addition of titanium amount. An improved cycling performance is observed for titanium-doped cathode materials, which is interpreted to a significant suppression of phase transitions and lattice changes during cycling. The thermal stability of titanium-doped materials is also improved, which can be attributed to its lower oxidation ability and enhanced structural stability at delithiated state.     

Enhanced electrochemical performance and thermal stability of La2O3-coated LiCoO2

An enhanced electrochemical performance LiCoO₂ cathode was synthesized by coating with various wt.% of La₂O₃ to the LiCoO₂ particle surfaces by a polymeric method, followed by calcination at 923 K for 4 h in air. The surface-coated materials were characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM, TEM, BET and XPS/ESCA techniques. XRD patterns of La₂O₃-coated LiCoO₂ revealed that the coating did not affect the crystal structure, α-NaFeO₂, of the cathode material compared to pristine LiCoO₂. TEM images showed a compact coating layer on the surface of the core material that had an average thickness of about ∼15 nm. XPS data illustrated that the presence of two different environmental O 1s ions corresponds to the surface-coated La₂O₃ and core material. The electrochemical performance of the coated materials by galvanostatic cycling studies suggest that 2.0 wt.% coated La₂O₃ on LiCoO₂ improved cycle stability (284 cycles) by a factor of ∼7 times over the pristine LiCoO₂ cathode material and also demonstrated excellent cell cycle stability when charged at high voltages (4.4, 4.5 and 4.6 V). Impedance spectroscopy demonstrated that the enhanced performance of the coated materials is attributed to slower impedance growth during the charge-discharge processes. The DSC curve revealed that the exothermic peak corresponding to the release of oxygen at ∼464 K was significantly smaller for the La₂O₃-coated cathode material and recognized its high thermal stability.     

锂离子电池正极材料研究进展

本文比较系统地叙述了用于锂离子电池正极材料的发展研究状况，其中包括的正极材料有：金属氧化物LiCoO2、LiNiO2、LiMn2O4、钒系正极材料以及有机多硫化物正极材料，并对正极材料研究的一些热点作了比较详细的评述。     

Mg~(2+)、Zr~(4+)离子掺杂对Li_4Ti_5O_(12)电化学性能的影响

以固相反应法合成了尖晶石型Li4Ti5O12电极材料,进行了金属离子掺杂以提高其导电性及综合性能,以适应用于大电流充放电的目的。采用XRD、室温恒流充放电循环、交流阻抗和循环伏安等测试手段,考察了A位掺杂Mg(Li4-xMgxTi5O12,x=0.15),B位掺杂Zr(Li4ZrxTi5-xO12,x=0.15)对Li4Ti5O12结构和电化学性能的影响。结果表明:掺杂少量的Mg2+、Zr4+未引起材料结构的变化,明显降低了Li4Ti5O12电荷转移阻抗,使导电性得到有效提高。0.1 C放电倍率下放电,未掺杂及掺杂Mg2+、Zr4+的Li4Ti5O12首次放电容量分别为159.8、144.9、161.2mAh/g,循环40次后,容量分别保持为113.8、130.6、133.6 mAh/g。与未掺杂的Li4Ti5O12相比,掺杂后的电极材料极化减小、循环容量及稳定性提高。     

溶胶凝胶法制备LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O3.95F0.05及其电化学性能

采用溶胶凝胶法合成锂离子电池正极材料LiMn2O4、LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O4和LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O3.95F0.05。使用X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜对合成材料的结构及物理性能进行了表征。将合成材料作为锂离子电池正极活性材料,用循环伏安、交流阻抗及充放电测试的电化学测试方法对材料进行了电化学的研究。结果表明,合成的LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O3.95F0.05材料的初始容量高于LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O4,而循环性能优于LiNi0.01Co0.01Mn1.98O4和LiMn2O4,显示了阴阳离子复合掺杂对于阳离子单一掺杂的优势。     

The effects of Ni and Li doping on the performance of lithium manganese oxide material for lithium secondary batteries

Layered Li_0.7[M_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ (M=Li, Ni) was synthesized using a sol-gel method. P2-Na_0.7[M_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ precursor was first synthesized by a sol-gel method, and then O2-Li_0.7[M_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ was prepared by an ion exchange of Li for Na in P2-Na_0.7[M_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ precursor. From charge/discharge curves, it was seen that Li_0.7[Li_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ has two plateaus similar to those observed from a spinel structure, but Li_0.7[Ni_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ holds a single plateau as observed from a typical layered structure. It was considered that Li_0.7[Li_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ undergoes a phase transformation from layered to spinel structure during the charge/discharge cycle, but Li_0.7[Ni_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ maintains O2-layered structure after the cycles. Li_0.7[Ni_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂ was higher in discharge capacity and retention rate than Li_0.7[Li_1/6Mn_5/6]O₂.     

In situ composite of nano SiO2-P(VDF-HFP) porous polymer electrolytes for Li-ion batteries

Nano SiO₂-P(VDF-HFP) composite porous membranes were prepared as the matrix of porous polymer electrolytes through in situ composite method based on hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane and phase inversion. SEM, TEM, DSC and AC impedance analysis were carried out. It is found that the in situ prepared nano silica was homogeneously dispersed in the polymeric matrix, enhanced conductivity and electrochemical stability of porous polymer electrolytes, and improved the stability of the electrolytes against lithium metal electrodes. The in situ composite method was found to be much better than the direct composite method in lowering the interfacial resistance between electrolyte and lithium metal electrode. Moreover, cycle test of lithium batteries using lithium metal as anode and sulfur composite material as cathode showed that the electrolyte based on in situ composite of silica presented stable charge-discharge behavior and little capacity loss of battery.     

一种能够抑制锂枝晶的锂金属电池电解液润湿性添加剂

将氟代有机溶剂2,2,3,3-四氟丙基甲基丙烯酸酯(TFPMA)作为双功能添加剂引入碳酸酯电解液体系,考察了TFPMA质量分数对增大润湿性的影响.采用交流阻抗、恒流充放电等测试了添加TFPMA后的锂金属电池性能.采用SEM和XPS表征了循环后的锂金属电极表面.结果表明,1.0％(质量分数,下同)TFPMA的添加使电解液与隔膜间的接触角从54°降至44°,内阻从6.15Ω降至1.94Ω,Li-LiFePO4电池在5 C电流密度下的比容量从66 mA·h/g提升至80 mA·h/g,1 C电流密度下的恒电流循环在100圈时还保持99％以上的库仑效率.TFPMA还促进了Li+的均匀沉积和优良固体电解质界面膜的形成,抑制了锂枝晶,电解液添加了1.0％TFPMA后,Li-Cu电池可以循环100圈以上,而库仑效率没有发生较大下降.循环后电极的SEM图表明,添加了1.0％TFPMA电解液的锂金属负极表面沉积更加平整,有较少的锂枝晶生成.     

球形磷酸铁锂材料的制备及其18650电池的测试

采用高能球磨和喷雾干燥法制备了球形磷酸铁锂材料LFP-1,并制作18650实装电池,测试电极片的压实密度,同时选择一种商业化磷酸铁锂材料LFP-2作为对比。测试结果显示,2种LFP材料均由平均粒径为300~500 nm的一次颗粒组成,比表面积为13~15 m²/g,碳质量分数为1.5%左右。通过CR2032纽扣型电池充放电测试表明,在0.2C时,LFP-1的比放电容量约为165 mA·h/g,与商业化磷酸铁锂材料LFP-2相近。制备18650电池的结果表明,商业化磷酸铁锂LFP-2材料制备的电极片的最高压实密度可以达到2.52 g/cm³,显著高于实验室制得的磷酸铁锂材料LFP-1的最高压实密度2.25 g/cm³,这可能与材料的颗粒粒度分布不同有关。