Acronimo: FULLnanoBAT
Titolo: FULL solid-state NANOstructured electrodes and nanocomposite electrolytes for magnesium BATtery: elucidating interfaces influence on ion intercalation
Responsabile scientifico: Prof Paolo SGARBOSSA - Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale-Università' degli Studi di PADOVA
Coordinatore: prof.ssa Erika Michela DEMATTEIS - Università degli Studi di Torino
Partner-Unità di ricerca: Università degli Studi di Udine, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale-Università degli Studi di PADOVA
Bando: PRIN 2022 - Decreto Direttoriale n. 20435 del 06-11-2024
Durata: 04/02/2025 - 03/02/2027 (24 mesi)
Budget totale progetto: € 61.619,00

Abstract del progetto

New innovative energy storage devices to support renewable energy are needed and cannot be based on a single technology. Recently, thanks to the impressive development of Li-ion battery (LIB) materials, a great support in the switch to electrical mobility and infrastructure has started. Post-LIBs include secondary Mg-ion batteries (MIB) that are based on a less critical material, and the replacement of liquid electrolyte with a solid-state one can solve safety problems and improve cyclability by hindering corrosion or degradation reactions at the electrodes. Nevertheless, no real example of full solid-state MIB has been proposed and further understanding on solid interfaces is needed to finely-tune the materials towards optimal performances.

The project aims to develop high surface area electrodes by synthesizing nanostructured materials, to be coupled with a solid-state electrolyte based on complex hydrides and polymer nanocomposites, so that a full solid-state Mg-battery will be assembled. A special focus will be dedicated to further understand the reaction at the interfaces and push forward the actual application and knowledge of this technology. Battery materials will be synthesized by classical metallurgical synthesis, wet-chemistry, or ball milling, to then be structurally and microstructurally characterized, and tested for thermal stability and electrochemical performance. The development of anode material will focus on the compositional optimization of Mg-substituted alloys (e.g., Sn, Bi, In, Sb) comparing performances of nanostructured and bulk alloys. On the cathode side, the project will focus on known Mo-S nanosized material.

Electrolyte composition will be optimized by mixing by ball milling Mg(BH4)2, NH3BH3, and different oxides, in order to tailor structure and microstructure towards an improved ion conductivity of 10-4 S cm-1 at room temperature. The formation of an amorphous phase will be investigated and described to further understand its role in Mg-ion migration and conduction mechanism.

A further improvement of the conduction properties will be pursued by mixing these nanopowders as fillers in polymer composites based on functionalized polyketones with tailored side chains able to stabilize the Mg ions and thus facilitating their motion between the electrodes.
The full battery is expected to cycle at least 20 times with limited properties decay, demonstrating a full solid-state device and investigating the ion migration mechanism at interfaces.

The project is expected to implement, communicate, and disseminate with an open access approach the basic knowledge of the structure/microstructure-electrochemical properties of full solid-state batteries by combining nanoscaled materials and their thorough characterization with a complementary multi-analysis approach. The full solid-state Mg-battery realized will represent a proof of concept of possible post-LIBs devices.