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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Characterization of Electrode Materials for Lithium Ion and Sodium Ion Batteries Using Synchrotron Radiation Techniques
Published on: November 11, 2013
A bee pupa-infilled honeycomb structure-inspired Li2MnSiO4 cathode for high volumetric energy density secondary
Jinyun Liu1, Xirong Lin, Huigang Zhang
1Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, P. R. China. jyliu@iim.ac.cn.
Abstract:
Emerging power batteries with both high volumetric energy density and fast charge/discharge kinetics are required for electric vehicles. The rapid ion/electron transport of mesostructured electrodes enables a high electrochemical activity in secondary batteries. However, the typical low fraction of active materials leads to a low volumetric energy density. Herein, we report a novel biomimetic "bee pupa infilled honeycomb"-structured 3D mesoporous cathode. We found previously the maximum active material filing fraction of an opal template before pinch-off was about 25%, whereas it could be increased to ∼90% with the bee pupa-infilled honeycomb-like architecture. Importantly, even with a high infilling fraction, fast Li+/e- transport kinetics and robust mechanical property were achievable. As the demonstration, a bee pupa infilled honeycomb-shaped Li2MnSiO4/C cathode was constructed, which delivered a high volumetric energy density of 2443 W h L-1. The presented biomimetic bee pupa infilled honeycomb configuration is applicable for a broad set of both cathodes and anodes in high energy density batteries.
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