Alternatives for Magnesium Metal Anodes? Intercalation Materials As Negative Electrodes for Rechargeable Magnesium-Ion Batteries

Tuesday, 26 May 2015: 16:20
Salon A-3 (Hilton Chicago)
C. God (VARTA Micro Innovation GmbH), A. K. Burrell (JCESR at Argonne National Laboratory), B. J. Ingram (Argonne National Laboratory), K. Kapper, S. Koller, C. Lenardt (VARTA Micro Innovation GmbH), and J. T. Vaughey (Argonne National Laboratory)
The unabated demand of cost-effective and high performance battery systems compells research groups to look for further improvements of energy storage systems around the world. Lithium-ion batteries seem to be an appropriate solution for this energy issue, but on the other hand extraordinary breakthroughs within the next years are not to be anticipated. Furthermore, lithium-ion batteries still suffer from serious safety concerns. Considering properties such as a rather low reduction potential (-2.36 V vs. SHE), high specific capacity (3380 mAh/cc), low equivalent weight and moreover, sufficient safety due to a non-dendritic metal deposition, magnesium-ion batteries appear to be competitive to lithium-ion batteries [1].

Since organic, aprotic electrolyte systems create a passivation layer on the Mg metal surface preventing a reversible Mg-deposition and dissolution, corrosive electrolytes such as Grignard compounds have to be used [2]. However, research focuses on the development of Mg-battery systems with an operational voltage of 3V Grignard electrolytes do not provide. A strategy to achieve the ambitious 3V goal is the development of intercalation/insertion compounds such as tin or graphite and replacement of corrosive electrolytes by organic ones [3].

From literature it is well known that the Mg-intercalation into graphite is impossible showing even solvated intercalation [4, 5]. However, in this contribution we want to shed light on the intercalation behavior of Mg into graphite with a broad range of electrochemical and spectroscopical analysis methods showing a non destructive and reversible magnesiation and de-magnesiation of a common graphite electrode with organic, aprotic electrolytes (cf. figure 1, figure 2 and figure 3).


[1] P. Saha, M.K. Datta, O.I. Velikokhatnyi, A. Manivannan, D. Alman, P.N. Kumta. Progress in Materials Science 66, 2014, 1-86.

[2] Z. Lu, A. Schechter, M. Moshkovich, D. Aurbach. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 1999, 203–217.

[3] N. Singh, T.S. Arthur, C. Ling, M. Matsui, F. Mizuno. ChemComm, 2012.

[4] M. Kawaguchi, A. Kurasaki. Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 6897–6899.

[5] Y. Maeda, Ph. Touzain. Electrochimica Acta, 1988, 1493-1497.