Majdi 

et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177

https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-021-03631-x

NANO REVIEW Open Access

Nano and Battery Anode: A Review

Hasan Sh. Majdi1, Zagir Azgarovich Latipov2, Vitaliy Borisov3, Nedorezova Olga Yuryevna4*,
Mustafa M. Kadhim5,10,11, Wanich Suksatan6, Ibrahim Hammoud Khlewee7 and Ehsan Kianfar8,9* 

Abstract 
Improving the anode properties, including increasing its capacity, is one of the basic necessities to improve bat-
tery performance. In this paper, high-capacity anodes with alloy performance are introduced, then the problem of
fragmentation of these anodes and its effect during the cyclic life is stated. Then, the effect of reducing the size to the
nanoscale in solving the problem of fragmentation and improving the properties is discussed, and finally the various
forms of nanomaterials are examined. In this paper, electrode reduction in the anode, which is a nanoscale phenom-
enon, is described. The negative effects of this phenomenon on alloy anodes are expressed and how to eliminate
these negative effects by preparing suitable nanostructures will be discussed. Also, the anodes of the titanium oxide
family are introduced and the effects of Nano on the performance improvement of these anodes are expressed, and
finally, the quasi-capacitive behavior, which is specific to Nano, will be introduced. Finally, the third type of anodes,
exchange anodes, is introduced and their function is expressed. The effect of Nano on the reversibility of these
anodes is mentioned. The advantages of nanotechnology for these electrodes are described. In this paper, it is found
that nanotechnology, in addition to the common effects such as reducing the penetration distance and modulating
the stress, also creates other interesting effects in this type of anode, such as capacitive quasi-capacitance, changing
storage mechanism and lower volume change.
Keywords:  Battery anode, High-capacity anodes, Changing storage mechanism, Capacitive quasi-capacitance,
Titanium oxide

Introduction the insertion of lithium atoms in graphite (at the time of

which the distance between the layers is about 35.3 Å,

Graphite is a carbon material with a layered structure in charging), these materials are called intercalation anodes
[6–14]. According to Fig.  1 in graphite, a maximum of
in which there is a suitable space between the layers for one lithium atom can be stored for every 6 carbon atoms
the placement of lithium atoms [1–4]. During charging, [5]. Because capacity is directly related to the amount of
lithium ions are reduced in the anode and converted to lithium stored, graphite has a lower capacity than lith-
lithium atoms, which are placed between the graphite ium metal anodes, but as mentioned earlier, it is used as

the plates reaches 3.5 Å [5–10]. During discharge, the

layers. After the arrival of lithium, the distance between a commercial anode because it does not have dendritic
growth problems. Note that in this article and future arti-
lithium atoms are oxidized to lithium ions and trans- cles, the anode and cathode means the active substance
ported through the electrolyte to the cathode. Due to in the anode and cathode [6–8]. Due to the low capac-
ity of graphite, anodes with high capacity are required
[15–18]. A group of anodes that can store large amounts
*Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected]; ehsan_ of lithium atoms are alloy-type anodes made of metal or
[email protected]; [email protected] semiconductors. The function of these anodes is to form
4
Department of Legal and Social Sciences, Naberezhnye Chelny Institute,
Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia an alloy with a metal or semiconductor, thereby storing
8
Department of Chemical Engineering, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad the lithium atom [19–21]. In this type of material, com-
University, Arāk, Iran pared to graphite, where only one lithium atom is stored
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

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Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 2 of 26

connection between the active material itself, between

the active conductive–additive material and between the
active-collecting active substance to be cut off [18–20].
When this phenomenon occurs, the active substance is
electrically isolated; therefore, electron transfer does not
take place to carry out the oxidation reaction. Therefore,
a large volume of active ingredients remains unused and
do not participate in capacity, and ultimately this causes a
Fig. 1  Shows how lithium is stored in graphite. For every 6 carbon
sharp drop in capacity during the work cycle [21, 41, 42].
atoms, 1 lithium atom is stored [12] Figure 3 shows the crushing phenomenon. Unfortunately,
Fig.  3 does not show the entire structure of the anode
electrode. In fact, in a conventional electrode, micron
particles of active materials are used along with binders
and carbon conductive materials, etc. [43–46]. Which is
broken if the electronic connections mentioned above
are broken. Figure  4 shows the charge and discharge
curves for silicon particles measuring 10 microns. It can
be seen that the capacity even at the first discharge is
only 800 mAh/g (compared to the initial 4000 charged).
In graphite, on the other hand, capacity decreases by only
0.03 per work cycle. These anodes have a higher voltage
than graphite (according to the formula stated earlier, the
higher the anode voltage, the lower the battery voltage)
[10, 21, 39]. For example, silicon has a voltage of 0.3 to
0.4 higher than lithium, while in graphite the voltage is
about 0.05  V higher than lithium, but silicon and other
alloy anodes have such a high capacity that the voltage
Fig. 2  Types of anodes with capacity [13–15] does not have a significant effect, and the energy is sig-
nificantly higher than graphite.

for every 6 carbon atoms, several lithium atoms can be Nanotechnology Solution
stored for each metal atom [9–11]. The most important Battery performance can be improved if the shredding
of these anodes are silicon, and antimony. For silicon the phenomenon can be prevented in some way. Research
capacity is about 4000 mAh/g and for tin the mentioned has shown that when the dimensions of silicon reach the
capacity is 900 mAh/g compared to graphite which has a nanometer range (less than 150  nm), the crushing phe-
capacity of about 350 mAh/g. According to Fig. 2, among nomenon no longer occurs [47–50]. Figure  5 shows the
alloy anodes, silicon has the highest volume and weight TEM image of silicon nanoparticles during lithium ioni-
capacity, is found in abundance in nature, and the entire zation. These two particles change volume due to the
electronics industry is based on silicon; Thus, as Fig.  2 entry of lithium, but do not break under stress [7, 18, 40].
shows, silicon is the most important of the alloy anodes This shows that in order to use the extraordinary capacity
[12–15]. Therefore, most of the material in this article is of silicon, we must inevitably go to the nanoscale [51–53].
about silicon, but the principles mentioned can be gen- If nanoparticles are used, the problem of fragmentation is
eralized to other alloy anodes. Active anode material, solved, but they are not normally connected to the elec-
Theoretical capacity, Advantages and study results are tron supply. Therefore, for the first time, the research-
presented in Table 1. ers used silicon nanowires grown vertically on a current
collector as shown in Fig.  6 (SEM image). In this way,
Problems of Alloy Anodes the problem of crushing can be solved, because there
In these anodes, the storage and release of lithium is is enough space between the nanowires to change the
accompanied by a large volume change that can reach volume of each nanowire during the duty cycle without
up to 400% of the initial volume, as shown in Fig. 3. Dur- generating extensive stress, the diameter of each nanow-
ing the work cycle, due to the stresses caused by volume ire is also less than the critical dimension [19–22, 30,
change, the phenomenon of pulverization of active sub- 54–56]. As it is known, after alloying (entry of lithium),
stances occurs [7, 10, 39, 40]. Fragmentation causes the the width of the nanowires increased and the side walls
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 3 of 26

Table 1  Research on active anode material, theoretical capacity, advantages

Active anode material Theoretical Advantages Common issues References
capacity (mAh
­g−1)

Insertion/de-insertion materials 200–600 Good working potential Low coulombic efficiency [3, 22–28]
A. Carbonaceous 1116 Low cost High voltage hysteresis
a. Hard carbons 780/1116 Good safety High irreversible capacity
b. CNTS
c. Graphene
Insertion/de-insertion materials 175 Extreme safety Very low capacity [29]
B. Titanium oxides 330 Good cycle life Low energy density
a. ­LiTi4O5 Low cost
b. ­TiO2 High power capability
Alloy/de-alloy materials 4212 Higher specific capacities Large irreversible capacity [25, 26, 30–34]
a. Silicon 1624 High energy density Huge capacity fading
b. Germanium 993 Good safety Poor cycling
c. Tin 660
d. Antimony 790
e. Tin oxide 1600
f. SiO
Conversion materials 500–1200 High capacity Low coulumbic efficiency [32, 33, 35–38]
a. Metal oxides ­(Fe2O3, ­Fe3O4, CoO, ­Co3O4, MnxOy, High energy Unstable SEI formation
­Cu2O/CuO, NiO, ­Cr2O3, ­RuO2, ­MoO2/MoO3 etc.) Low cost Large potential hysteresis
Environmentally compat- Poor cycle life
ibility Poor capacity retention
High specific capacity Short cycle life
Low operation potential High cost of production
and Low polarization than
counter oxides
Conversion materials 500–1800 High capacity Low coulumbic efficiency [33, 37, 38]
b. Metal phoshides/sulfides/nitrides High energy Unstable SEI formation
(MXy; M ¼ Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Low cost Large potential hysteresis
Co etc. and X ¼ P, S, N) Environmentally compat- Poor cycle life
ibility Poor capacity retention
High specific capacity Short cycle life
Low operation potential High cost of production
and Low polarization than
counter oxides

became textured, and although there was a large volume [44–46]. Finally, because silicon is a semiconductor, it has
change, no fragmentation occurred [57]. In nanowires, less electron conductivity than graphite, which is a metal-
electron transfer (communication between the current loid [33, 38, 58].
collector and the active substance) takes place through
the length of the nanowires. Since the electron transfer Different Nano Morphologies
is good, the full capacity of the silicon active material can It has been shown that using silicon nanotubes instead
be used [31, 32, 35–37]. Nanowires have a higher elec- of nanowires is more effective. In nanotubes, the neces-
trolyte bond season than bulk material [41–43]. Due to sary space is provided for volume change on both sides
the fact that the oxidation reaction takes place through of the inner and outer walls [34, 59–61]. In addition,
the electrode–electrolyte interface, the speed of the reac- nanotubes are usually thinner than nanowires, so trans-
tions also increases. on the other hand, because nanow- mitters are better, because silicon is a semiconductor
ires have small dimensions compared to the bulk material and is also amorphous during the duty cycle due to
that ions have to travel longer distances, ion transfer stresses, it does not conduct well electronically during
through lateral dimensions is easy. Faster ion transfers the duty cycle [47, 48, 54]. As a result, electrons do not
and oxidation reactions increase power and even energy, flow well in all parts of the silicon. Hybrid nanostruc-
because ion transfer (sometimes in addition to electron tures can be used to solve this problem, for example a
transfer) is a potential loss (concentration polarization) silicon nanotube whose core contains conductive mate-
of both the anode and cathode electrodes of a lithium rials or vice versa has a conductive coating [62–66]. A
battery, this polarization decreases as the penetration comparison between the two categories of uncoated
distance decreases and the energy density improves and carbon-coated silicon nanowires has shown that
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 4 of 26

Fig. 3  Pulverization and disconnection of its electrical connection [10]

carbon-coated nanowires maintain considerable capac- a good cycle life. Maintains well up to 1000 working
ity. Another solution is to use nanocomposite anodes cycles [52, 67–70].
[49–51]. One of the most widely used materials in The question may arise in the mind of the reader as to
nanocomposites in the role of stress modulator (buffer) why other alloy anodes are being explored, given that sili-
is carbon. For example, carbon nanocomposite in the con has a much higher capacity than other alloy anodes
field of carbon is one of the solutions to the stress prob- [71–73]. The answer that is given and can be generalized
lem. Figure 7 shows a Tin–carbon nanocomposite. Tin to the whole collection of nanotechnology and battery
acts as an active ingredient as an alloy anode. Carbon articles is that because nanomaterials are synthesized in
in this nanocomposite acts as both a buffer and a con- different ways and with different morphologies (shapes)
ductor, and in addition to their various carbon struc- in different ways [74–78]. Each synthesis method is dif-
tures, they can store some lithium. As shown in Fig. 7, ferent from the discussion of price, quality, safety, scal-
the tin capacity is less than the theoretical capacity ability, environmental effects, etc.; for example, metals
(900  mAh/g) due to the presence of carbon, but has cannot be prepared with the sol–gel method, which is
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 5 of 26

a simple method [79–81]. Even for a specific material

such as silicon, one-dimensional nanomaterials, such as
nanofibers, can be produced by electrospinning, which is
a mass-produced method, in the form of nanowires by the
expensive chemical vapor deposition method, another
method for laboratory testing [22, 52–54]. Nanowires can
be fabricated by silicon etching. In the latter method, the
crystalline direction and doping can be easily controlled,
and the effect of different dopants and crystalline direc-
tions on lithium storage can be determined [23, 82–88].
Even a nanomaterial with a specific shape and composi-
tion can be used in different ways and even in a specific
method, different reactants can be used with different
temperature conditions, etc., each of which may have
different results in terms of price, safety and since the
key to commercialization other than investing is to find
the right production method by considering the factors
listed above, so there is an inseparable link between pro-
duction and performance in batteries and very good and
appropriate articles Available in connection with the syn-
thesis method [30, 31, 56, 57, 89–92]. In addition to one-
dimensional nanostructures (nanowires and nanotubes),
Fig. 4  Charging and discharging diagram for 10-micron silicon efforts have been made to use zero-dimensional nano-
particles [17] structures (nanoparticles) (as a good nanoparticle are
easier to synthesize than nanowires). The problem with
nanoparticles is that on the one hand it is not possible

Fig. 5  TEM image of silicon nanoparticles during lithium ionization progressed from a to h it lithium ionization, respectively [19]
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 6 of 26

Fig. 6  SEM image of silicon nanoparticles during lithium [20]

Fig. 7  TEM image and life cycle curve of tin nanocomposite in carbon, dark tin nanoparticles are marked [54]

to easily make a connection between the nanoparticles 37, 38, 96, 97]. In another method, nanoparticles in the
themselves and on the other hand between them and the field of polyaniline conductive polymer, which have both
conductive and collecting material [32, 35, 36]. For exam- a modulating and electron conducting role, have been
ple, Fig. 8a shows that the primary nanoparticles (left of prepared and observed to have a good cycle life of 1000
the image) increase in volume after absorbing lithium while maintaining a capacity of 1600 mAh/g. In compari-
during charging, and after a few cycles, disconnect the son, the PVDF binder method loses more than 50% of its
electron connection when it returns to its original state capacity in 100 working cycles. Another way to solve the
without lithium [3, 24, 93–95]. In the usual method of problem is hollow nanostructures. In this method, the
preparing the anode (also the cathode), the powder of the necessary empty space is provided during the entry and
active substance (here silicon) is used together with the exit of lithium through a hollow volume [26, 27, 33, 58,
conductive carbon (to improve the conductivity) and the 59]. The finite element method shows that in the same
PDVF binder (for the bonding of the particles) shown in volume, the hollow structure undergoes less stress dur-
Fig. 8b. According to Figure b, because the silicon nano- ing the work cycle, so they have better resistance to the
particles change volume, after returning to another initial crushing phenomenon (Fig. 9).
state, the electrical connection between the nanoparti-
cles, the carbon conductive material is lost, the capacity Electrolyte Decomposition in the Anode
is reduced. To solve the above problem in the method As we know, any substance is stable in a potential range
shown in Figure c, amorphous silicon, which also has a and undergoes a reduction or oxidation process more
stress-modulating role, is used as an adhesive to bond or less within this range [28, 98, 99]. That is why we can
silicon nanoparticles so that the electrical connection is decompose (electrolyze) water to produce hydrogen and
no longer interrupted and the capacity will remain [25, oxygen. These cells are the opposite of galvanic cells
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 7 of 26

Fig. 8  a Shows how the electrical relationship of nanoparticles with the current collector is broken, b shows another type of disconnection, silicon
nanoparticles in orange and carbon in black and PDVF polymer chains are shown in green. c Use amorphous silicon adhesive to bond nanoparticles
even after deformation [47].

Fig. 9  Hollow nanoparticles to solve the volume change problem [48]

Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 8 of 26

(batteries), called electrolyte cells. In these cells, unlike reaching the electrolyte [62–65]. Therefore, neither the
the battery, we give energy to force a reaction that is not electron can reach the electrolyte molecule nor the elec-
thermodynamically desirable [60]. trolyte molecule can move towards the electron in the
When charging the battery, just like decomposing anode, both of which cause the electrolyte to regenerate
water, we give energy to the battery through the charger and have a self-limiting reaction. Fortunately, this layer
to reverse the reaction that took place in the battery and is permeable to lithium ions, and lithium ions can pass
return the battery to its pre-discharged state [100–104]. through it to the anode surface, capture electrons, and
The organic electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries regenerate [105–108]. This layer reduces battery power
(such as water electrolysis) changes as a result of the as it increases the penetration distance of the lithium ion
energy from the charger. As mentioned, in a lithium-ion to reach the anode [109–111].
battery, at the negative pole (graphite anode), lithium-ion Figure 11 shows the range of electrolyte stability against
reduction occurs during charging. Due to the fact that the potential of anodes and cathodes. If the cathode has a
the tendency to electrolyte reduction is thermodynami- potential higher than the electrolyte stability range, the
cally higher than lithium ion, so electrolyte reduction is electrolyte is oxidized at the cathode and during charg-
done instead of lithium ion reduction. This causes a solid ing, and also if the anode has a lower potential than the
layer to form on the graphite surface. This solid layer is stability range, it is regenerated at the anode and during
called SEI (solid electrolyte interface). The composition electrolyte charging. Fortunately, as shown in Fig.  11,
of this layer is complex and a mixture of several chemi- conventional cathodes do not have the problem of elec-
cals. Figure 10 shows a schematic of this layer. As can be trolyte instability, but in graphite and silicon anodes there
seen from the figure, the composition of this substance is instability and SEI is formed [66–68].
contains lithium ions and carbon; therefore, the forma-
tion of this layer is accompanied by a decrease in lith- SEI Problem in Silicon
ium, which reduces the capacity in the first charge [34, In general, for anodes less than one volt relative to lith-
61]. This layer of thickness is in the nanometer range as ium metal, the electrolyte is unstable and SEI is formed.
shown in Fig.  10. The formation of the SEI layer itself Hence, SEI is formed in the silicon anode, which has a
limits the continuation of the electrolyte reduction reac- potential of 0.3 to 0.4 higher than lithium [112–115].
tion, because it prevents the electrolyte molecules from Unfortunately, because silicon changes volume and
reaching the graphite anode surface as a physical barrier. breaks down, new levels of silicon are exposed to the elec-
In fact, it acts as a kinetic inhibitor (like the passive layer trolyte, so the electron reaches the electrolyte and a new
of aluminum oxide, which prevents oxygen from reach- SEI is formed on these new surfaces. As a result, capacity
ing the lower aluminum and prevents the rest of the alu- is constantly reduced during work cycles. It is necessary
minum from oxidizing). On the other hand, because it is to say this, because tests are often performed on lithium
an electron insulator, it also prevents the electron from metal, voltages relative to lithium are measured in all

Fig. 10  Schematic of SEI formation and composition of this layer [66]

 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 9 of 26

Fig. 11  Shows the voltage of common anodes and cathodes and the range of electrolyte stability potential and the potential range of SEI
formation [67]

battery articles [69]. In silicon nanomaterials, because of and we have problems with its growth, while in graphite
the higher chemical activity, it is even more susceptible SEI would not grow without a slight change in its volume.
to the formation of SEI. In the case of nanomaterials, it is It should be noted that what has been said about SEI and
true that they do not break down, but they do change vol- silicon also applies to other alloy anodes [70, 120–123].
ume. According to Fig. 12, this volume change causes SEI As seen in section b, this problem also exists for silicon
to grow continuously and we see the disadvantages of SEI nanotubes, but if we can somehow prevent the silicon
growth, such as reduced capacity and power, and so on. from coming into contact with the electrolyte from the
Figure 13 of section a better illustrates the reason for SEI beginning and changing its volume in the vicinity of the
growth in nanomaterials. If we have the cross section of a electrolyte, this problem will be solved.
nanowire (or nanoparticles, etc.) in the initial state with- Wu et al. [18] used a mechanical locking layer as shown
out lithium, shown on the left side of the figure, during in Fig.  13c; this layer, which is made of silicon oxide,
charging, because the silicon is lithium-containing, its prevents the change in the outer volume of the nano-
volume increases and due to electrolyte instability at the tubes due to its mechanical strength. Thus a stable SEI is
same time an SEI layer is formed on the nanowire [116– formed without changing the volume (a stable SEI layer
119]. Now during discharge, the lithium comes out and like graphite). This oxide layer is the conductor of lithium
the particle shrinks while the SEI does not shrink. This ions so it does not cause a problem to react. The neces-
causes the SEI to crumble under stress (or even in the sary space for volume change is also provided through
second stage of silicon enlargement under lithium ioniza- the inner wall of the nanotube. So there is no problem of
tion, at which point stress occurs and the SEI crumbles crushing. Because the study showed that the electrolyte
because the exact boundary between the SEI and the par- does not penetrate into the nanotube, there is no contact
ticle does not exactly match). Therefore, when recharg- between the electrolyte and the inner wall of the nano-
ing (lithium ionization), a new SEI layer is formed again. tube. All these advantages make it offer a long cycle life
Repetition of this cycle leads to continuous SEI growth and good power. Figure  14 (shown in this figure with

Fig. 12  How the SEI layer grows [19]

Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 10 of 26

Fig. 13  Shows the growth of SEI in different conditions [20]

Fig. 14  a Comparison between the cycle life of black, blue and red for oxide-coated, b oxide-free and non-oxide nanotubes, respectively [21]

DWSiNT) shows part of the deep discharge cycles of this nanotube and nanowire samples lose their capacity rap-
sample. In deep discharge, the cycle life is always reduced idly. Discharged) For the plotted sample, it shows that the
faster. However, it is observed that after 900 cycles, the capacity maintains its capacity even after this relatively
prepared sample still has a good capacity, but the normal high C rate even at up to 6000 open cycles. In another
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 11 of 26

example [19], a core–shell structure is prepared, as the carbon coating is in the range of 10 nm and includes
shown in Fig.  15c, a carbon coating is used with silicon 100  nm silicon particles. The carbon shell is provided
nanoparticles inside the carbon coating. The thickness of with enough space to easily change the volume of the
silicon nanoparticle, as shown in Figure c. On the other
hand, silicon nanoparticles are attached to the carbon
shell from one point, so electron and ionic transitions
take place in it, because carbon is in the vicinity of the
electrolyte and not silicon, like graphite, a stable SEI is
formed without crushing because the change in volume
of silicon is not transferred to carbon and from carbon to
SEI, so similar to the figure in Fig. 12, it has a long cycle
life. If we use silicon nanoparticles normally, in addition
to the SEI problem, as we saw in the previous article and
Figure a, it shows that there is no empty space between
the silicon nanoparticles to change the volume, so there
is stress between the particles when they change volume,
but when Using this hollow structure (Figure b) there is
no longer any stress between the particles.
This anode has other advantages in addition to the
SEI problem, compared to the sample in Fig.  12. One
advantage of nanoparticle synthesis advantages over
nanotubes, and more importantly, the use of nanoparti-
cles compared to nanowires, is well compatible with the
slurry method, which is the conventional method of pre-
paring electrodes in batteries.

Introducing LTO Anode

So far, we have talked about two types of graphite anodes
and alloy (silicon) anodes. Another anode that is very
popular is the anode with Li4Ti5O12 compound, which
is called LTO for short. This anode is like intercalation
Fig. 15  a Display of electrodes made of silicon nanoparticles. b graphite [29, 124–127]. Figure  16 shows the structure
Electrode display made of silicon nanoparticles with carbon coating
and hollow structure. c The structure of the core-hollow shell used
and reaction of this type of anode. The LTO anode has a
in b, the silicon is inside the hollow carbon and its volume change is limited capacity of 175 mAh/g (compared to 300 graphite
observed during lithium ionization [10] and 4000 silicon). The voltage of this anode is also about

Fig. 16  Shows the structure and entry of lithium ion in LTO along with its reaction [74]
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 12 of 26

Fig. 17  a Displays the nanostructure discussed including Nano primary nanoparticles, b charge–discharge curve for ordinary micro particles, and c
for a-shaped particles [74]

1.5  V compared to lithium metal according to Fig.  17 This battery, because it has neither SEI nor volume
(the lower the anode voltage, the higher the battery volt- change, maintains the capacity well and has a very long
age). This high voltage and low capacity both make this cycle life (more than graphite) of about 20,000 cycles.
anode have very low energy, but it is still one step ahead Because it is an oxide compound and is very safe due
of silicon in commercial terms. One of the most impor- to the lack of volume change. Because it does not have
tant features of this anode is the safety issue, because in SEI, its power is not bad either, only its lithium ion dif-
electric vehicles there are unpredictable conditions, and fusion coefficient is low and its electron conductivity is
the other is the long cycle life, and finally its power [72, poor. To solve this problem, they provide LTO nano-
73, 128–130]. structures. Because this anode did not have SEI from
Due to the fact that the voltage of this anode is high, it the beginning, when it becomes Nano, it does not have
is in the range of electrolyte stability according to Fig. 17, the problem of forming more SEI, so it does not have
so SEI is not formed. On the other hand, as shown in more nanomaterial activity [32, 35–37].
Fig.  17, there is enough space for lithium ions in this It has been observed that nanoparticles cause the
composition and it does not change volume, while even LTO anode to charge and discharge within 5 min (12C).
in graphite, some volume change is seen due to the entry To prepare the nanostructure, first titanium oxide
and exit of lithium. Unlike the previous two anodes, lith- nanostructure is prepared and then reacted with a lith-
ium ions (not lithium atoms) are stored in this anode, ium source material when heated. This is also an advan-
and the oxidation reaction is due to the conversion of tage of LTO, as the preparation of T ­ iO2 nanostructures
titanium to 3-valent titanium, not to a change in lithium is very popular. Due to the problem of low volumetric
capacity [28, 74, 75, 131]. density and agglomeration of nanomaterials, micron
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 13 of 26

secondary particles made from nanoscale primary par- after a critical limit (in the range of a few nanometers)
ticles are more useful [33, 38, 58, 59]. there is no longer a constant voltage range [76].
Figure  17 shows part an of this nanostructure. As One of the things that happens on the surface is the
can be seen, from the controlled community of smaller insertion of more lithium ions into the surface lay-
particles measuring 10  nm, larger micron particles are ers. In the surface after insertion, we reach the formula
formed. According to the comparison of parts b and c in ­Li8.5Ti5O12, which is 1.5  mol more than the inner layers
Fig. 17, it is quite clear that this nanostructure is superior with the formula ­Li7Ti5O1, but in the micron material,
to ordinary micron particles, because it has less capacity because the percentage of surface is not high, it shows
and potential (especially in discharge). From this nano- its effect, but for Nano, because the amount of surface
structured anode, a battery is made and it is observed is large, the effects are large. There are several on the
that this battery is superior to the battery with graphite charge–discharge curve.
anode both in terms of cycle life and power, which is not
given due to the brevity of these curves [75]. The ben- TiO2 Anode
efits of Nano-LTO have been well documented in many There is also a ­TiO2 anode from the LTO family. These
articles, but what makes it stand out is an important dis- anodes are easier to synthesize, and because they do not
cussion of proper engineering of the structure, proper want to react with heat-induced lithium ion precursors,
synthesis method, and how to use the conductive mate- they do not have heat-induced problems such as nano-
rial to improve conductivity for further improvement. material growth. In addition, according to the chemi-
The future will be talked about. In addition, it is not dis- cal formula, titanium oxide has a capacity of twice the
puted that nanotechnology is useful for LTO, but many of amount of 335  mAh/g (LTO). The general response of
the phenomena that occur at the nanoscale for LTO are these anodes is TiO2 + xLi+ + xe− ↔ Lix TiO2 .
discussed so that some are not fully understood. TiO2 has four types of phases or crystallographic struc-
Another phenomenon that occurs at the nanoscale tures (different atomic arrangements) known as Brocket,
is the change in charge–discharge curves for the LTO Anastasi, Rutile, and ­(TiO2 (B). The Brocket phase does
anode. This anode provides a constant voltage over a not matter to the battery. Antara and rutile, which are
wide range of capacities (red box in Fig. 18). When LTO very popular phases, are important as anodes. Phase
ions are Nano, the constant voltage range decreases until ­(TiO2 (B) performs better than others due to its atomic

Fig. 18  Shows the linear curve range at the LTO anode in the charge–discharge axis [75]
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 14 of 26

open space and suitable channel for ion transport, and is distance and the effect of its quadratic power [142–146].
the most important [75, 76, 132–136]. There is no repulsive force. Figure  19 shows the charge
If we consider the theoretical capacity based on the and discharge curves and the cycle life for rutile bulk
chemical formula (one mole of lithium ion per mole of (micron), commercial rutile micro particles, and rutile
­TiO2), it is equal to the above value, but based on the nanowires. As can be seen, nanowires show good cyclic
phase and position that can be placed according to the longevity and capacity. The shape also confirms that the
lithium ion crystal lattice, different theoretical capacities shape of the nanomaterials also affects the performance
for different phases have been reported; for example, for of the anode. Morphology such as nanoparticles, nanow-
anisate, according to network sites, the half-capacity is ires, etc. differ in both capacity and life cycle and power,
high, 0.5 mol of lithium ion per mole of T­ iO2, 167 mAh/g. but the type of morphology alone is not decisive but the
Because all of these phases have poor ionic conduc- geometry of the structure that determines the perfor-
tivity, the nanoscale is very effective in increasing both mance (in the future about the geometry of the structure
power and capacity. What is interesting is that the nano- for all active materials for example, nanowires connected
structured capacity of Anastasi is more than the theoreti- to a current collector, nanowires mixed with graphene,
cal capacity based on the position of the network, but it and insulated nanowires each present different results. In
is definitely less than the theoretical capacity of Formula addition, there are test conditions and C rate and many
334 in all phases. Rutile in micron mode can only store other factors [77]. Phase ­(TiO2 (B), which is newer than
0.1  mol of lithium ion per grid unit. In rutile, lithium other phases, offers the best power and capacity due to
locations are located throughout the network, but the its suitable channels for lithium ion transport [147–151].
diffusion coefficient in the direction of the c-axis is one Figure 20 shows the structure of the penetration site. The
order of magnitude greater than that of the ab plate [137– capacitance can be significantly increased. This phase
141]. The lithium atom penetrates well in the direction of offers the best power and capacity among all titanium
the c-axis, but must be diffused throughout the space by anodes including LTO, so that by Nano partying it in
penetrating the ab plane, and because the diffusion veloc- just 4.5 s, the anode can be charged or discharged with a
ity is low in the ab plane, lithium ions accumulate in the capacity of 73% of theory. We do not have volume change
c channel, causing a charge repulsive force. Lithium ion in this anode either.
positive is generated. This repulsive force prevents more
ions from entering the network. As an interesting result Quasi‑capacitive Capacity
of the Nano effect, it has been shown that when the So far, it has been discussed about the storage capacity
dimensions of rutile become Nano, the capacity reaches of lithium ions in the form of a degree in the nuclear net-
0.8  mol of lithium ion, which has a reversible capacity work, and this capacity is improved in the nanoscale due
during different cycles, which reduces the penetration to the reduction of the penetration distance, and so on

Fig. 19  a Charge–discharge curve for the first time, b cycle life [77].
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 15 of 26

Fig. 20  Showing the atomic structure of the phase ­( TiO2 (B) [77]

[152–155]. But one of the interesting phenomena that

occurs for these anodes at the nanoscale is the storage of
lithium ions at the surface due to the large surface-to-vol-
ume ratio. This type of storage is different from the insert
and alloy capacity mentioned so far. This type of stor-
age is very fast because it does not require penetration,
and also because it does not create stress and the like, it
has the best cycle life and power compared to other lith-
ium storage methods [156–158]. Of course, this type of
capacity generates less energy. This capacity is discussed
in more detail in the topic of super capacitors. The Fig. 21
shows a comparison between the storage capacity of LTO
capacity in three different Nano dimensions [78]. Accord-
ing to Fig. 21 in small Nano dimensions, this capacity is
significant and decreases significantly with increasing
dimensions. It should be noted that capacitive capaci- Fig. 21  Demonstration of input and super capacitor capacities in
tance is not only related to titanium oxide compounds titanium oxide [78]
but is also present in many other active substances that
are mentioned when introducing them.

Introduction of Exchange Anodes shows a number of exchangeable oxide anodes with their
So far, we have talked about two types of insert electrodes reaction and capacity [22, 30, 55].
and alloys. The third type of electrode operation is based
on a conversion reaction. Figure 22 shows the mechanism Exchange Anode Problems
and reaction of this type of electrode. In this form, M (or Exchange anodes are very similar to alloy anodes, as
Me) is an intermediate element that is oxidized, and X is alloys have problems with volume change, fragmen-
an anion such as oxygen, sulfur, and the like [159–161]. tation, and SEI formation. In these anodes the ionic
The advantage of these anodes is that for every MxXy and electron conduction is low, and in addition the
unit, n lithium ions (n more than one) are involved in exchange rate is slow. This low speed leads to high
the reaction, whereas in the graphite insert anodes we potential during charging and discharging. At these
see one lithium ion for every 6 carbon atoms stored in potentials, there is a large difference between the charg-
titanium compounds. A maximum of one lithium ion is ing and discharging voltages, called hysteresis, which
stored per ­TiO2 formula unit. But in the exchange anode, is shown in Fig. 24 with a red arrow. This figure shows
for example, for CoO and FeO, the value of n is equal to that in the first stage of lithium extraction, the anode
2, and in ­Co3O4, the value of n is equal to 8. Figure  23 behavior is significantly different from the next stage
of charge and discharge. The hysteresis in this type of
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 16 of 26

Fig. 22  Shows the structure and entry of lithium ion with its reaction [22]

Fig. 23  Shows the reaction and capacity of a number of conversion

oxide anodes [30, 55]

Fig. 25  Demonstration of lithium ionization for n-Fe2O3 and

micro-M-Fe2O3 [80]

Nano Sizing Effects

Figure  25 shows the lithium ionization behavior (in the
test mode, against lithium metal) for anodes made of fine
nanoparticles (20 nm) and micro-nanoparticles (500 nm)
of iron oxide (SEM) images of these particles in Fig. 26.
Available it can be seen that the capacity of the Nano
anode is slightly higher. More importantly, it can be seen
that the charge–discharge behavior of these two anodes
is very different from each other, which is examined in
Fig. 24  Show charge–discharge curves of exchange anodes [79]
Fig.  26. Figure  26 shows the charge–discharge curves
in different cycles as well as the cycle life for the same
samples in Fig.  25 to determine the reason for the dif-
anode is up to one volt, while in the graphite and LTO
ference in charge–discharge curves in Fig. 25. Note that
anode it is about 0.2 V. This hysteresis is mostly due to
instead of capacity, lithium that enters and leaves (which,
activation polarization [78, 79].
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 17 of 26

Fig. 26  Display of SEM images, charge–discharge curves and cycle life for Nano-iron oxide and bulk [80]

according to the arguments, represents capacity) is used. to 1 ion), according to this, the capacity offered in Nano
In the charge–discharge curves of Fig. 26, lithium ioniza- is much more than bulk. In the micron-sized anode of
tion continued only up to 1 mol because its purpose was ­Fe2O3 (hematite), before the exchange reaction begins,
to investigate the behavior in this range of lithium ions. about 0.1 mol of lithium ion per mole of oxide compound
As can be seen, the effective surface mass for the material can be stored in the lattice, but above this critical limit,
is only 2 ­m2/g while for the Nano it has an effective sur- the exchange reaction takes place; on the other hand,
face area of 60  ­m2/g, which indicates how much higher when we increase the dimensions of iron oxide parti-
the effective surface area is at the Nano. The difference cles to 20  nm, the amount of lithium stored in degrees
between Nano and Nano performance is also quite clear. reaches 1  mol, which causes a volume change of only
As shown in Fig.  26, the amount of reversible lithium about 1%. Of course, about 0.5 mol is reversible (Fig. 25).
(which can be removed during charging) for Nano is In fact, the type of storage mechanism (input, exchange,
much higher than the corresponding amount for bulk. etc.) changes and the type of mechanism affects the
This shows that the capacity that can be recovered after shape of the charge–discharge curve. The above para-
the initial charge is much better in Nano than in micro. graph indicates that when the oxide dimensions enter the
Also, according to the same figure, in the next consecu- Nano field, the storage mechanism is also affected. So far
tive charge-discharges, the amount of lithium entering it has been said that Nano makes volume change easier
and leaving is less than 0.25 (from 0.75 to 1), while for without failure, but here it can be seen that even Nano
Nano, the amount of lithium entering and leaving is more has reduced the amount of volume change from a few
than 0.5 (the amount of lithium ion). In the composi- percent for the exchange reaction to one percent for a
tion it has changed from the range of less than 0.5 ions degree reaction. The reason for this change is the storage
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 18 of 26

mechanism for iron oxide due to thermodynamic prob- solve the problems of air pollution and climate change.
lems. The opposite happens for the ­Co3O4 anode because These energy storage technologies will rely on innova-
it is kinetic and is related to the current density (the tive materials science, i.e. developing electrode materials
current density is obtained by dividing the current by capable of being charged and discharged at high current
the surface); when the current is constant, in the Nano- rates. Generally, the potential advantages of nanostruc-
dimensions, because the surface is higher, the current tured active electrode materials can be summarized as
density decreases and the ­Co3O4 anode shows exchange follows: new reactions can be used that are not possible
behavior, but in the micro, due to the high current den- with bulk materials; a larger electrode/electrolyte contact
sity, the anode shows the insertion behavior [76–79]. area, leading to higher charge/discharge rates; short path
It can be seen from Fig.  26 that at the nanoscale, the lengths for both electronic and Li ion transport (permit-
cycle life is also much better than bulk. The reason for the ting operation even with low electronic or low Li ion con-
improvement of these expressed properties is the ease of ductivity, or at higher power); etc. Here, we review some
volume change and release of stress, ionic and electronic recent experimental results that show the advantages of
transitions are easier due to the reduction of the penetra- nanostructured active electrode materials [147]. Table  2
tion distance, which was expressed in this series of arti- summarizes the nanotechnologies that are used to pro-
cles. Due to high hysteresis, less attention has been paid duce nanomaterials, such as mechanical ball milling,
to compounds with hysteresis [22, 51–54, 80]. chemical vapour deposition, the template method, elec-
trochemical deposition, hydrothermal reaction, dehy-
Nanomaterials in Batteries dration, sintering, pulsed laser deposition, ultrasound,
Nanomaterials have been widely applied in the life sci- sol–gel synthesis, and micro emulsion.
ences, information technology, the environment, and The first group of applications of nanotechnology in
other related fields. Recently, nanostructured materials batteries is itself divided into two categories: the first
have also attracted attention for application in energy group nanoscale the active substance in the electrode,
storage devices, especially for those with high charge/ the second group use nanotechnology to improve the
discharge current rates such as lithium ion batter- performance of electrodes (cathode or anode) by adding
ies. The development of next-generation energy stor- nanomaterials other than the active substance, or the use
age devices with high power and high energy density is of Nano coatings. For example, Nano-dimensional addi-
key to the success of electric and hybrid electric vehicles tives such as Nano carbons, graphene, carbon nanotubes,
(EVs and HEVs, respectively), which are expected to at etc. have better electron conduction, or the use of Nano-
least partially replace conventional vehicles and help thick coatings on the active material to prevent unwanted

Table 2  Techniques and nanomaterials used in batteries

Techniques Nanomaterials Lithium storage capacity for References
electrode materials

Mechanical milling SWNT 600 mAh/g [162]

MWNT made by chemical vapor deposition
Mechanical milling Sn 670 mAh/g (1st cycle) [163]
MWNT made by chemical vapor deposition
Mechanical milling MWNT-Sn 570 mAh/g (1st cycle) [163]
MWNT made by chemical vapor deposition
Mechanical milling MWNT-SnNi 512 mAh/g (1st cycle) [163]
MWNT made by chemical vapor deposition
Mechanical milling Ag3.64Fe15.6Sn48 530 mAh/g (1st cycle) [164]
Mechanical milling Ag3.64Fe15.6Sn48 420 mAh/g (300 cycle) [164]
Chemical vapor deposition MWNT 340 mAh/g [165]
Electrochemical deposition Cu6Sn5 400 mAh/g (30 cycle) [166]
Mechanical milling Si (78 nm) composites 1700 mAh/g [167]
Sol–gel based template synthesis V2O5 (nanowires) 147 mAh/g [168]
Sol–gel synthesis LiMxFe1−xPO4 (M = Mg, Ti, Zr) 160–165 mAh/g at C/8 [169]
(40–150 nm)
Hydrothermal reaction TiO2 nanotubes 170 mAh/g (1st cycle) [170]
Sintering WS2 nanotubes 915 mAh/g (1st cycle) [171]
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 19 of 26

reactions with the electrolyte, stress modulation, pro- as large capacity, high abundance and environmental
vide stability and …. for it. For example, for a ­LiFePO4 friendliness [1–4]. Unfortunately, due to the huge vol-
cathode, the amount of electron conductivity is poor. ume expansion (~ 300%) in lithiation, silicon particles
Conductivity is improved by using a conductive carbon are pulverized and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) lay-
coating on its particles or by using a conductive carbon ers formed on their surface are unstable. Therefore, the
material as an additive, A Nano-thick coating of oxide is long-term cycling stability of silicon anode is poor [5–8].
used [83, 94, 172–177]. For example, for a L ­ iFePO4 cath- Moreover, the low intrinsic conductivity of Si causes
ode, the amount of electron conduction is poor, Conduc- unsatisfying rate-capability [9–12]. Thus, a large amount
tivity is improved by using a conductive carbon coating of Si/metal (e.g., Ag, Cu, Al, Sn) composites have been
on its particles or by using a conductive carbon material developed to solve the low conductivity [13–16]. How-
as an additive, or the L­ iCoO2 cathode is unstable at high ever, the large volume expansion cannot be relieved
currents in the vicinity of the electrolyte, using a Nano- effectively. On the other hand, carbon Nano layers are
thick oxide coating to stabilize it [162, 163, 178, 179]. If coated on the electrode materials to increase their con-
we want to illustrate the field of nanotechnology in this ductivity, enhance their mechanical strength and provide
category with an example, in the same L ­ iFePO4 cathode it them stable interfaces with electrolyte. Therefore, various
has been shown that carbon coating increases conductiv- conformal carbon layer coated silicon (Si@C) nanostruc-
ity and consequently power, capacity, etc., but one of the tures are developed. For example, Si@C with core–shell
areas of research is how to create this coating. Be cheap, structure are formed by pyrolyzing various precursors
effective, etc.; therefore, research in the field of synthe- (e.g., pitch, glucose) to coat carbon layers on the pre-pre-
sis methods is very important. On the other hand, how to pared silicon nanoparticles [17–21].
add the same coating and additives to be more effective, Cui et  al. designed a hierarchical pomegranate-struc-
so the engineering and architecture of nanostructures is tured Si@C composite and a nonfilling carbon-coated
one of the important areas of research and the prepara- porous silicon micro particle via the pyrolysis of res-
tion of these engineered structures is also an interesting orcinol–formaldehyde resin (RF), respectively [23, 82].
issue. Consider Fig.  27 to clarify the matter. This figure And Yu et  al. prepared double carbon shells coated Si
shows two types of Nano-engineered structures for the nanoparticles via chemical vapor deposition (CVD), with
­LiFePO4 cathode that use carbon nanotubes to improve acetylene as carbon source [24]. All these designs provide
conductivity. In addition to differences in performance, sufficient voids to allow large volume changes of Si dur-
each of these structures has a different synthesis method, ing the lithiation/delithiation. However, most of Si@C
which indicates the importance of synthesis. composites were prepared in separate steps by either pre-
Silicon has attracted tremendous attentions as one of coating or post coating carbon on silicon nanomaterials.
the most promising candidates for the next-generation It led to a complicated preparation strategy.
Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Compared to the traditional Continued interest in high performance lithium-ion
graphite anode, it has many obvious advantages such batteries has driven the development of new electrode

Fig. 27  a, b With carbon nanotube core and ­LiFePO4 wall, and Figure c ­LiFePO4 nanoparticles attached to carbon nanotube [3, 93]
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 20 of 26

materials and their synthesis techniques, often target- and then freeze-dried to retain maximum surface area
ing scalable production of high quality nanoceramics and reduce agglomeration. Compared to batch hydro-
(< 100  nm in diameter), which may offer performance thermal syntheses, CHFS type processes typically pro-
improvements. However, there are a number of hurdles, duce very small nanoparticles (< 10  nm) with a narrow
which need to be overcome to move away from current size distribution [2–4]. Additionally, CHFS processes
batch synthesis methods that offer poor reproducibility are highly scalable (> 1 kg per hour in the lab of the UCL
or lack of control over crystallite attributes, particularly authors [5]) and can be used to make high quality nan-
at larger scale syntheses. Continuous hydrothermal flow oparticles at scale, with little or no significant variation
synthesis (CHFS) processes are a promising route for between those made on the smaller CHFS laboratory
the direct and controlled manufacture of Li-ion battery scale process.
electrode nanoceramics. Such processes use superheated Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements at a scan rate
water and metal salt mixtures as reagents. In a typical of 0.05 mV ­s−1 in the range of 0.05–3 V versus Li/Li+, are
CHFS reaction, a feed of supercritical water (above the presented in Fig. 28. A pair of cathodic and anodic peaks
critical point of water (TC = 374 °C and Pc = 22.1 MPa), were observed in the potential range 1.5 and 2.3  V ver-
is rapidly mixed in an engineered mixer [1] with a metal sus Li/Li+, relating to Li-ion insertion into and extraction
salt/base aqueous precursor feed (at ambient tempera- from the interstitial octahedral site of ­TiO2 (see equation)
ture and the same pressure), resulting in rapid formation [81]. Under normal circumstances, a two-phase reac-
of the corresponding nanocrystallite oxide in the water. tion is expected to occur during lithiation with phase
This nucleation dominated reaction occurs as a result of equilibrium of the Li-poor L ­ i0.01TiO2 (tetragonal) phase
the metal salts being supersaturated upon mixing with and the Li-rich L ­ i0.55TiO2 (orthorhombic) phase [19, 20].
sc-water and also instantly being hydrolysed and dehy- The detected specific current peak decreased with higher
drated under these exotic reaction conditions. The nas- amount of Sn, thereby reducing the amount of pure ­TiO2.
cent nanocrystallite metal oxide stream in water is then The pure T ­ iO2 sample showed virtually no electrochemi-
cooled in process and then can be constantly collected cal activity in the potential range between 1.3 and 1  V
from the exit of the CHFS process as an aqueous nano- versus Li/Li+ during the first cycle. The increasing spe-
particle slurry at ambient temperature. The cleaned crys- cific current during the first cycle between 1 and 0.05 V
tallites (e.g. via dialysis) can be obtained as a wet solid versus Li/Li+, is attributed to solid electrolyte interface

Fig. 28  Cyclic voltammograms for the 1st and 2nd cycles for the as-prepared Nano-powder in the potential range of 0.05 and 3 V versus Li/Li+
for an applied scan rate of 0.05 mV ­s−1 for a undoped anatase ­TiO2, b ­Ti0.94Sn0.06O2, c ­Ti0.89Sn0.11O2, and d ­Ti0.85Sn0.15O2. e Specific current versus
potential of the 2nd cycle for all materials at lower potentials. The specific current was calculated by taking into account the active material mass
loadings [81]
 Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 21 of 26

(SEI) formation (electrolyte destruction) at lower poten- that nanotechnology greatly improves the perfor-
tials [13]. There was also likely to be substantive SEI mance of these anodes. Nano sizing has also been
formation at the crystallite surfaces of the Sn-doped shown to affect even the electrochemical and chem-
materials compared to the undoped T ­ iO2, as there was ical-physical nature (such as charge–discharge curve
significant electrochemical activity in the range of 1.3 deformation and greater capacity in surface layers).
to 1 V versus Li/Li+ for the former. However, as the sur- 4. In this paper, exchange anodes are introduced and
face area decreases with higher Sn-loading, the initial their complex operation is described. It was found
capacity loss due to the SEI formation may be expected that many problems, such as alloy anodes, can be
to decrease. The general trend in fact showed that with solved by Nano damaging the active material. The
higher Sn-loading, the initial irreversible capacity loss special effects of Nano were expressed as a change in
increased (from 363 mAh ­g−1 for the pure T ­ iO2 and 467 mechanism.
mAh ­g−1 for ­Ti0.85Sn0.15O2).
Acknowledgements
Conclusion Not applicable.

Authors’ Contributions
1. This article discusses silicon anodes as a repre- HShM, ZAL, VB: Investigation, concept and design, experimental studies, writ-
sentative of alloy anodes. It was observed that the ing—original draft, reviewing and editing, NOY, MMK, WS, IHK: Investigation,
concept and design, experimental studies, writing—original draft, reviewing
only solution to solve the shredding problem is to and editing, EK: Investigation, concept and design, data curation, conceptu-
use nanotechnology. In this paper, the importance alization, writing—original draft, reviewing and editing. All authors read and
of nanomaterial synthesis was expressed. In sum- approved the final manuscript.
mary, how to use nanomaterials with different mor- Funding
phologies to solve the problem and improve power. Not applicable.
Although various morphologies were discussed,
Availability of Data and Materials
there was no discussion of structural engineering and All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published
the use of carbon conductive materials, which will article.
be discussed in future articles. This was one of the
methods of establishing electrical bonding for nano- Declarations
particles. There are various structures to prevent the
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate
nanoparticles from breaking, the art of which is to I wrote to you in regard to your question about naming some people in my
create different geometries and the method of their article, I must point out that in some cases, help was sought from people and
preparation. it was necessary to mention the names of these people in order to maintain
professional ethics in research issues.
2. This article discusses SEI, which is one of the most
important topics in most anodes and some high Consent for Publication
voltage cathodes. This article discussed the problem Not applicable.
of alloy anode fragmentation, while which is due to Competing Interests
the continuous growth of SEI. It turned out that in The author declare that they have no competing interests.
order to have a proper cycle life, this problem must
Author details
be overcome. According to the given examples, using 1
 Department of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Industries, Al-
a suitable design at the nanoscale, in addition to pro- Mustaqbal University College, Babylon 51001, Iraq. 2 Elabuga Institute of KFU,
viding free volume change of silicon, this volume Kazan Federal University, Elabuga, Russia. 3 Sechenov First Moscow State
Medical University, Moscow, Russia. 4 Department of Legal and Social Sciences,
change does not occur in contact with the electrolyte. Naberezhnye Chelny Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia. 5 Depart-
3. The carbon coating on the anode can increase the ment of Dentistry, Kut University College, Kut, Wasit 52001, Iraq. 6 Faculty
conductivity from 13–110 to 2.05 S/cm. Doping can of Nursing, HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Chulabhorn
Royal Academy, Bangkok 10210, Thailand. 7 Department of Prosthodontics,
enhance performance by increasing the conductivity College of Health and Medical Technololgy, Al-Ayen University, Thi‑Qar, Iraq.
of electrons and even ions and providing more space 8
 Department of Chemical Engineering, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University,
within the network along with Nano sizing, which Arāk, Iran. 9 Young Researchers and Elite Club, Gachsaran Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Gachsaran, Iran. 10 College of Technical Engineering, The Islamic
may be appropriate for new projects, which is more University, Najaf, Iraq. 11 Department of Pharmacy, Osol Aldeen University Col-
a Nano-topic in Nano synthesis than how it accom- lege, Baghdad, Iraq.
panies matter. Synthesize with Nano-dimensional
Received: 12 September 2021 Accepted: 19 November 2021
doping until there is a discussion about the effect of
Nano on improving anode performance. This article
discusses titanium oxide anodes, which is one of the
most commercially important anodes. It was found
Majdi et al. Nanoscale Research Letters (2021) 16:177 Page 22 of 26

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