Electrochemical reactivity of PZT materials in Li-ion and Na-ion batteries

Abstract PZT (lead–zirconium oxide–titanate) materials are lead-based common piezoelectric materials that are used in a very wide range of applications because of their unique characteristics such as high piezoelectric coefficients. This report investigates the electrochemical activity of PZT materials as anode/cathode materials versus metallic lithium (Li) and sodium (Na). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and galvanostatic capacity tests are engaged to examine the electrochemical activity of these materials as electrodes. The results show that the electrochemical activity of PZT materials for both types of batteries is significant. The resulting capacity values reach approximately 200 mAh/g for Li-ion batteries and 100 mAh/g for Na-ion battery systems after 250 cycles at a rate of 10 mA/g within 0.01–2.0 V voltage range. Coulombic efficiencies are shown to be higher than 97% for both lithium-ion (Li-ion) and sodium ion (Na-ion) batteries throughout all cycles. Capacitive and diffusive behaviors of PZT as an anode material in both types of batteries was also investigated. Additionally, to compare these results, battery grade PbO is also tested against metallic Li and Na, where similar oxidation/reduction behavior are observed with PZT materials.