Exploration of artificial neural network [ANN] to predict the electrochemical characteristics of lithium-ion cells

CoO anode, as an alternate to the carbonaceous anodes of lithium-ion cells has been prepared and investigated for electrochemical charge-discharge characteristics for about 50 cycles. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), which are useful in estimating battery performance, has been deployed for the first time to forecast and to verify the charge-discharge behavior of lithium-ion cells containing CoO anode for a total of 50 cycles. In this novel approach, ANN that has one input layer with one neuron corresponding to one input variable, viz., cycles [charge-discharge cycles] and a hidden layer consisting of three neurons to produce their outputs to the output layer through a sigmoid function has been selected for the present investigation. The output layer consists of two neurons, representing the charge and discharge capacity, whose activation function is also the sigmoid transfer function. In this ever first attempt to exploit ANN as an effective theoretical tool to understand the charge-discharge characteristics of lithium-ion cells, an excellent agreement between the calculated and observed capacity values was found with CoO anodes with the best fit values corresponding to an error factor of <1%, which is the highlight of the present study.     

Copper molybdenum sulfide: A novel pseudocapacitive electrode material for electrochemical energy storage device

The ever-growing demand for energy storage devices necessitates the development of novel energy storage materials with high performance. In this work, copper molybdenum sulfide (Cu₂MoS₄) nanostructures were prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal method and examined as an advanced electrode material for supercapacitor. Physico-chemical characterizations such as X-ray diffraction, laser Raman, field emission scanning electron microscope with elemental mapping, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses revealed the formation of I-phase Cu₂MoS₄. Electrochemical analysis using cyclic voltammetry (CV), charge-discharge (CD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed the pseudocapacitive nature of charge-storage via ion intercalation/de-intercalation occurring in the Cu₂MoS₄ electrode. The Cu₂MoS₄ electrode delivered a specific capacitance of 127 F g^?1 obtained from the CD measured using a constant current density of 1.5 mA cm^?2. Further, Cu₂MoS₄ symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) device delivered a specific capacitance of 28.25 F g^?1 at a current density of 0.25 mA cm^?2 with excellent rate capability. The device acquired high energy and power density of 3.92 Wh kg^?1 and 1250 W kg^?1, respectively. The Nyquist and Bode analysis further confirmed the pseudocapacitive nature of Cu₂MoS₄ electrodes. The experimental results indicate the potential application of Cu₂MoS₄ nanostructures as a novel electrode material for energy storage devices.