Microalgae-Templated Spray Drying for Hierarchical and Porous Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C Composite Microspheres as Li-ion Battery Anode Materials
Jinseok Park,
Jungmin Kim,
Dae Soo Jung,
Isheunesu Phiri,
Hyeon-Su Bae,
Jinseok Hong,
Sojin Kim,
Young-Gi Lee,
Myung-Hyun Ryou,
Kyubock Lee
Affiliations
Jinseok Park
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea
Jungmin Kim
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Dae Soo Jung
Energy and Environmental Division, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology, 101 Soho-ro, Jinju 52851, Korea
Isheunesu Phiri
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Hyeon-Su Bae
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Jinseok Hong
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Sojin Kim
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Young-Gi Lee
Intelligent Sensors Research Section, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 34129, Korea
Myung-Hyun Ryou
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, 125 Dongseo-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Kyubock Lee
Graduate School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
A method of microalgae-templated spray drying to develop hierarchical porous Fe3O4/C composite microspheres as anode materials for Li-ion batteries was developed. During the spray-drying process, individual microalgae serve as building blocks of raspberry-like hollow microspheres via self-assembly. In the present study, microalgae-derived carbon matrices, naturally doped heteroatoms, and hierarchical porous structural features synergistically contributed to the high electrochemical performance of the Fe3O4/C composite microspheres, enabling a discharge capacity of 1375 mA·h·g−1 after 700 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g. Notably, the microalgal frameworks of the Fe3O4/C composite microspheres were maintained over the course of charge/discharge cycling, thus demonstrating the structural stability of the composite microspheres against pulverization. In contrast, the sample fabricated without microalgal templating showed significant capacity drops (up to ~40% of initial capacity) during the early cycles. Clearly, templating of microalgae endows anode materials with superior cycling stability.
