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Asian Journal of Engineering, Sciences and Technology - Volume 5, Issue 1 2015
By Haris Habibullah Sajwani
Graphene is extracted from graphite and possesses some the ideal characteristics of very light weight, high conductivity, and chemical stability. The conventional materials used as LIB electrodes fail to meet the increasing demand of more efficient, faster, and lighter charge storing cells. This magnifies the role of graphene to be used as supplementary material for achieving higher levels of battery charge capacity, reduced charge losses during discharge, and greater cyclic stability over a longer duration. The researcher has examined graphene as a hybrid or supplementary element with lithium iron phosphate (LiF ePO4), manganese oxide, (MnO2), and cobalt oxide(Co3O4), which are currently used as cathode materials, and with lithium titanium oxide (Li4Ti5O12) and silicon (Si), which are presently used as anode materials.. Graphene as supplementary cathode material exhibited benefits of greater charge capacitance and cyclic stability, while at the anode it exhibited benefits of reduced discharge losses and reduced volumetric expansion. The integration of graphene at anode was met with fewer challenges than at the cathode as anode act as active charge carrier during the charging process and carbon-family elements serve as good charge retainers.