Graphene and selected derivatives as negative electrodes in sodium- and lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

The performance of graphene, and a few selected derivatives, was investigated as a negative electrode material in sodium- and lithium-ion batteries. Hydrogenated graphene shows significant improvement in battery performance compared with as-prepared graphene, with reversible capacities of 488 mA h g−1 for lithium-ion batteries after 50 cycles and 491 mA h g−1 for sodium-ion batteries after 20 cycles. Notably, high rates of 1 A g−1 for graphene and 5 A g−1 for hydrogenated graphene indicate higher capacities in sodium-ion batteries than in lithium-ion batteries. Alternatively, nickel-nanoparticle-decorated graphene performed relatively poorly in lithium-ion batteries. However, in sodium-ion batteries they showed the highest reversible capacities of all studied batteries and graphene derivatives, with 826 mA h g−1 after 25 cycles with ≈97 % coulombic efficiency. Overall, minor modifications to graphene can dramatically improve electrochemical performance in both lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. © 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.