From Bulk to Interface: Solvent Exchange Dynamics and Their Role in Ion Transport and the Interfacial Model of Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries.

Multivalent battery chemistries have been explored in response to the increasing demand for high-energy rechargeable batteries utilizing sustainable resources. Solvation structures of working cations have been recognized as a key component in the design of electrolytes; however, most structure-property correlations of metal ions in organic electrolytes usually build upon favorable static solvation structures, often overlooking solvent exchange dynamics. We here report the ion solvation structures and solvent exchange rates of magnesium electrolytes in various solvents by using multimodal nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis and molecular dynamics/density functional theory (MD/DFT) calculations.

Heterolytic Scission of Hydrogen Within a Crystalline Frustrated Lewis Pair.

We report the heterolysis of molecular hydrogen under ambient conditions by the crystalline frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) 1-{2-[bis(pentafluorophenyl)boryl]phenyl}-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (KCAT). The gas-solid reaction provides an approach to prepare the solvent-free, polycrystalline ion pair KCATH2 through a single crystal to single crystal transformation. The crystal lattice of KCATH2 increases in size relative to the parent KCAT by approximately 2%.

Monitoring solvent dynamics and ion associations in the formation of cubic octamer polyanion in tetramethylammonium silicate solutions.

NMR methods were utilized to monitor the in situ structural and dynamic changes of various species in highly alkaline tetramethylammonium (TMA) silicate solutions. Quantitative 29Si NMR, 1H, 2H, and 17O relaxation NMR, and 1H and 29Si diffusion NMR of silicates, TMA, H2O and D2O demonstrate that the growth of the cubic octamer Q38 is accompanied by reduced water mobility and increasing TMA coordination number per Q38, which reaches an equilibrium value of 4.5 at 15 °C.

Bis-BN cyclohexane: a remarkably kinetically stable chemical hydrogen storage material.

A critical component for the successful development of fuel cell applications is hydrogen storage. For back-up power applications, where long storage periods under extreme temperatures are expected, the thermal stability of the storage material is particularly important. Here, we describe the development of an unusually kinetically stable chemical hydrogen storage material with a H2 storage capacity of 4.

Homogeneous hydrogenation of CO₂ to methyl formate utilizing switchable ionic liquids.

Combined capture of CO2 and subsequent hydrogenation allows for base/methanol-promoted homogeneous hydrogenation of CO2 to methyl formate. The CO2, captured as an amidinium methyl carbonate, reacts with H2 with no applied pressure of CO2 in the presence of a catalyst to produce sequentially amidinium formate, then methyl formate. The production of methyl formate releases the base back into the system, thereby reducing one of the flaws of catalytic hydrogenations of CO2: the notable consumption of one mole of base per mole of formate produced.

Chemical routes to nanocrystalline thermoelectrically relevant AgPb(m)SbTe(m+2) materials.

A direct synthesis of nanoparticles of the thermoelectrically relevant AgPbmSbTem+2 materials (m = 0, 1, 2) was accomplished in reverse micelles. The procedure offers several distinct advantages and opens the field for experimentation of thermoelectric properties for nanoparticle-derived materials.