Mesoporous Ge/GeO₂/Carbon Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes with High Capacity and High Reversibility

Abstract

We report mesoporous composite materials (m-GeO2, m-GeO2/C, and m-Ge-GeO2/C) with large pore size which are synthesized by a simple block copolymer directed self-assembly. m-Ge/GeO2/C shows greatly enhanced Coulombic efficiency, high reversible capacity (1631 mA h g(-1)), and stable cycle life compared with the other mesoporous and bulk GeO2 electrodes. m-Ge/GeO2/C exhibits one of the highest areal capacities (1.65 mA h cm(-2)) among previously reported Ge- and GeO2-based anodes. The superior electrochemical performance in m-Ge/GeO2/C arises from the highly improved kinetics of conversion reaction due to the synergistic effects of the mesoporous structures and the conductive carbon and metallic Ge.