Comparison of Porous Germanium Thin Films on SS and Mo as Anode for High-Performance LIBs

Abstract

The increasing demand for high performance lithium ion batteries is pushing the research toward the development of new materials for electrodes. Our study focuses on the usage of Germanium as the active material for the negative electrode since it has a higher theoretical specific capacity than standard graphite-based electrodes. This research article provides insight into the electrochemical performance of thin films of Germanium deposited on metallic substrates and then nanostructured via electrochemical etching. Molybdenum and stainless steel are investigated as substrates and compared with regard to the performance of the resulting electrodes. The nanostructured Germanium electrodes show promising results, demonstrating a stable and high specific capacity for hundreds of cycles. The long-term stability of the cell together with a high rate capability proves the reliability of the cell engineered.