Zinc Oxalate as a Green Anode Material for Commercial Li-Ion Batteries: a Preliminary Study

Li ion batteries is a crucial energy storage for new and renewable energy (NRE)-based power plant due to its high energy density. However, the anode materials of commercial Li-ion batteries such as graphite and Li4Ti5O12 are considered less eco-friendly due to it requirement of high temperature processing which is also uneconomical. In this research, for the first time ever, zinc oxalate was prepared via mild temperature precipitation process and applied as anode material in commercial Li-ion batteries. XRD, FTIR and SEM analysis were conducted to examine the physical and chemical properties of the as obtained zinc oxalate. The effect of precursor concentration was investigated. Charge-discharge analysis shows that zinc oxalate dihydrate as anode material delivered a discharge capacity of 25 mAh/g.