Water enables a performance jump of glass anode for lithium-ion batteries

It is known that some oxide glass systems are a promising class of anode materials for lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs). However, the relatively low capacities of glass anodes severely limit their practical application for large energy storage devices. In this work, we establish an unconventional approach, by which the electrochemical performances of glass anodes for LIBs can be considerably enhanced. Specifically, we incorporate water into an electrochemically active glass system, i.e., TeO₂-V₂O₅-P₂O₅ (TVP) glass powder via humidity treatment, and then mix the hydrated powder with additives to fabricate anode for LIBs. The optimized humidity treatment leads to the structural modification of the TVP glass powder, which boosts the lithium ion storage capacity of the TVP anode by more than 2.4 times, and maintains the reversible capacity for extra-long cycles. The boosted performances are attributed to both the depolymerized structural network for Li⁺ diffusion and the hydration-induced nanocrystals. These findings help develop superior glass electrodes in an economically effective way.