Silver-doped alginate cryogels as new generation current collectors for lithium-ion batteries: Structural and electrochemical analysis

The development of next-generation materials for essential components in lithium-ion batteries, such as collectors, is crucial owing to considerations of performance, cost, and environmental impact. From this perspective, new-generation material studies are being carried out to increase the performance of current collectors and reduce environmental damage. In this study, a novel biodegradable Ag nanoparticle-doped calcium alginate cryogel was produced and used as the current collector for Li-ion batteries to improve performance, reduce environmental damage, and develop new-generation batteries. The synthesis of Ag NPs was achieved using an inexpensive and environmentally friendly chemical reduction method, followed by their incorporation into the gels. Freeze-drying was employed to obtain cryogels without the inclusions on the current collector. Structural analysis of both the particles and gels was performed via XRD, SEM, EDS, and FTIR, DSC respectively. The results showed that the synthesized Ag NPs were spherical with an average diameter of 10 nm. The cryogels exhibited desirable chemical structures, as indicated by FTIR analysis. The addition of Ag NPs led to changes in peak positions and intensities, indicating crosslinking homogenization and increased hydrophobicity. Galvanostatic Charge/Discharge Analysis was conducted to evaluate the electrochemical performance of the cryogels as current collectors. The cryogels demonstrated balanced lithiation/delithiation behavior but had a limited operational duration, likely due to structural instability. Postmortem analysis conducted by FTIR and DSC analysis for disassembled cryogels showed the presence of lithium salts from the electrolyte in the structure, and the usage of a solid electrolyte was recommended to improve the system's performance.