Compósitos de Polipirrol e Li1,05Mn2O4 : preparação por dip coating ou casting e caracterização eletroquímica

Abstract

Films of polypyrrole/Li1.05Mn2O4 composites were prepared by chemical synthesis over a carbon-fiber substrate, using the dipcoating and casting techniques, aiming at improving the performance of these materials as cathodes in secondary lithium or lithium-ion batteries. For this the following were investigated: i) electrochemical behavior of both materials (polymer and oxide) over the carbon-fiber surface; ii) electrochemical characteristics and stability of the composites obtained by the different methods; iii) best electrolyte to work at high potentials (> 4 V vs. Li/Li+); iv) electronic conduction of the composites; v) morphology of both components of the composites; vi) behavior of the composites as cathodes of lithium-ion batteries. From the obtained results it could be concluded that neither preparation technique led to films with a good electrical contact between the spinel crystals and the carbon fibers, which is necessary for them to show a high performance for charge storage. For the materials prepared by dip coating, the use of factorial design effectively helped in obtaining a higher specific-capacity value for polypyrrole (118 mA h g-1), but that was not the case for the polypyrrole/Li1.05Mn2O4 composite (only 20 mA h g-1). On the other hand, for the films prepared by casting, the electronic conduction of the spinel was increased due to the polypyrrole and carbon black mixture, while the most appropriate electrolyte for the electrochemical characterizations was 1 mol L-1 LiClO4 in EC:DMC 1:1 (V/V). However, only the predominantly capacitive behavior of the carbon fiber was observed in the charge/discharge tests. Finally, the charge/discharge tests of the polypyrrol/Li1.05Mn2O4 composite compacted over platinum yielded values of ~70 mA h g-1 for the first cycle and a better stability than that presented by the pure spinel.