Role of Short-Range Order on Diffusion Coefficients in the Li-Mg Alloy.

Li-Mg alloys are important because of their beneficial role in fostering uniform plating and stripping of lithium in all-solid-state batteries. The alloy forms a solid solution on the BCC crystal structure when the lithium content is greater than ≈ 0.3.

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Properties of the Lithium-Silver System.

A carbon-silver anode has recently been shown to suppress dendrite formation in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The role that silver plays in enabling the reversible deposition and stripping of lithium remains unknown. Furthermore, very little is known about the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Li Ag alloys.

Fundamental Thermodynamic, Kinetic, and Mechanical Properties of Lithium and Its Alloys.

Lithium alloying reactions are beneficial in promoting uniform plating and stripping of lithium metal in all-solid-state batteries. First-principles calculations are performed to predict thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical properties of lithium and several important Li-M alloys (M = Mg, Ag, Zn, Al, Ga, In, Sn, Sb, and Bi). While the Li-Mg binary system forms a solid solution, most other lithium-metal alloys prefer stoichiometric intermetallic compounds with common local motifs that enable fast Li diffusion.

Cation Vacancies Enable Anion Redox in Li Cathodes.

Conventional Li-ion battery intercalation cathodes leverage charge compensation that is formally associated with redox on the transition metal. Employing the anions in the charge compensation mechanism, so-called anion redox, can yield higher capacities beyond the traditional limitations of intercalation chemistry. Here, we aim to understand the structural considerations that enable anion oxidation and focus on processes that result in structural changes, such as the formation of persulfide bonds.

Redox Mechanisms upon the Lithiation of Wadsley-Roth Phases.

The Wadsley-Roth family of transition metal oxide phases are a promising class of anode materials for Li-ion batteries due to their open crystal structures and their ability to intercalate Li at high rates. Unfortunately, most early transition metal oxides that adopt a Wadsley-Roth crystal structure intercalate Li at voltages that are too high for most battery applications. First-principles electronic structure calculations are performed to elucidate redox mechanisms in Wadsley-Roth phases with the aim of determining how they depend on crystal structure.

Redox Mechanisms, Structural Changes, and Electrochemistry of the Wadsley-Roth LiTiNbO Electrode Material.

The TiNbO Wadsley-Roth phase is a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, enabling fast cycling and high capacities. While already used in commercial batteries, many fundamental electronic and thermodynamic properties of LiTiNbO remain poorly understood. We report on an in-depth first-principles study of the redox mechanisms, structural changes, and electrochemical properties of LiTiNbO as a function of Li concentration.

Solid electrolytes redefine ion conduction.

A mechanism of ion transport in solid electrolytes can guide the design of lithium batteries.

Chemical and Structural Factors Affecting the Stability of Wadsley-Roth Block Phases.

Wadsley-Roth phases have emerged as highly promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries and are an important class of phases that can form as part of the oxide scales of refractory multiprinciple element alloys. An algorithmic approach is described to systematically enumerate two classes of Wadsley-Roth crystallographic shear structures. An analysis of algorithmically generated Wadsley-Roth phases reveals that a diverse set of oxide crystal structures belongs to the Wadsley-Roth family of phases.

Molecular Engineering of Bacterioferritin: A Versatile Nanodimensional Protein Cage.

Currently, intense interest is focused on the discovery and application of new multisubunit cage proteins and spherical virus capsids to the fields of bionanotechnology, drug delivery, and diagnostic imaging as their internal cavities can serve as hosts for fluorophores or bioactive molecular cargo. Bacterioferritin is unusual in the ferritin protein superfamily of iron-storage cage proteins in that it contains twelve heme cofactors and is homomeric. The goal of the present study is to expand the capabilities of ferritins by developing new approaches to molecular cargo encapsulation employing bacterioferritin.

Metal-Metal Bonding as an Electrode Design Principle in the Low-Strain Cluster Compound LiScMoO.

Electrode materials for Li-ion batteries require optimization along several disparate axes related to cost, performance, and sustainability. One of the important performance axes is the ability to retain structural integrity though cycles of charge/discharge. Metal-metal bonding is a distinct feature of some refractory metal oxides that has been largely underutilized in electrochemical energy storage, but that could potentially impact structural integrity.

Delocalized Metal-Oxygen π-Redox Is the Origin of Anomalous Nonhysteretic Capacity in Li-Ion and Na-Ion Cathode Materials.

The anomalous capacity of Li-excess cathode materials has ignited a vigorous debate over the nature of the underlying redox mechanism, which promises to substantially increase the energy density of rechargeable batteries. Unfortunately, nearly all materials exhibiting this anomalous capacity suffer from irreversible structural changes and voltage hysteresis. Nonhysteretic excess capacity has been demonstrated in NaMnO and LiIrO, making these materials key to understanding the electronic, chemical, and structural properties that are necessary to achieve reversible excess capacity.

Multielectron, Cation and Anion Redox in Lithium-Rich Iron Sulfide Cathodes.

Conventional Li-ion cathodes store charge by reversible intercalation of Li coupled to metal cation redox. There has been increasing interest in new materials capable of accommodating more than one Li per transition-metal center, thereby yielding higher charge storage capacities. We demonstrate here that the lithium-rich layered iron sulfide LiFeS as well as a new structural analogue, LiNaFeS, reversibly store ≥1.

Rechargeable Alkali-Ion Battery Materials: Theory and Computation.

Since its development in the 1970s, the rechargeable alkali-ion battery has proven to be a truly transformative technology, providing portable energy storage for devices ranging from small portable electronics to sizable electric vehicles. Here, we present a review of modern theoretical and computational approaches to the study and design of rechargeable alkali-ion battery materials. Starting from fundamental thermodynamics and kinetics phenomenological equations, we rigorously derive the theoretical relationships for key battery properties, such as voltage, capacity, alkali diffusivity, and other electrochemically relevant computable quantities.

Understanding intercalation compounds for sodium-ion batteries and beyond.

Intercalation compounds are popular candidate electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries and other 'beyond lithium-ion' technologies including potassium- and magnesium-ion batteries. We summarize first-principles efforts to elucidate the behaviour of such compounds in the layered and spinel structures. Trends based on the size and valence of the intercalant and the ionicity of the host are sufficient to explain phase stability and ordering phenomena, which in turn determine the equilibrium voltage profile.

Connecting the Simpler Structures to Topologically Close-Packed Phases.

Pathways connecting dissimilar crystal structures are fundamental to our understanding of structural phase transitions. In this Letter, we report on a new pathway connecting the hexagonal close-packed crystal structure to a hierarchy of topologically close-packed phases consisting of kagome and triangular nets. Common intermetallic structure prototypes such as the Friauf-Laves phases, CaCu_{5}, Ce_{2}Ni_{7}, Be_{3}Nb, and Co_{7}Gd_{2} are specific members of this hierarchy.

Role of Crystal Symmetry in the Reversibility of Stacking-Sequence Changes in Layered Intercalation Electrodes.

The performance of many technologies, such as Li- and Na-ion batteries as well as some two-dimensional (2D) electronics, is dependent upon the reversibility of stacking-sequence-change phase transformations. However, the mechanisms by which such transformations lead to degradation are not well understood. This study explores lattice-invariant shear as a source of irreversibility in stacking-sequence changes, and through an analysis of crystal symmetry shows that common electrode materials (graphitic carbon, layered oxides, and layered sulfides) are generally susceptible to lattice-invariant shear.

Main-Group Halide Semiconductors Derived from Perovskite: Distinguishing Chemical, Structural, and Electronic Aspects.

Main-group halide perovskites have generated much excitement of late because of their remarkable optoelectronic properties, ease of preparation, and abundant constituent elements, but these curious and promising materials differ in important respects from traditional semiconductors. The distinguishing chemical, structural, and electronic features of these materials present the key to understanding the origins of the optoelectronic performance of the well-studied hybrid organic-inorganic lead halides and provide a starting point for the design and preparation of new functional materials. Here we review and discuss these distinguishing features, among them a defect-tolerant electronic structure, proximal lattice instabilities, labile defect migration, and, in the case of hybrid perovskites, disordered molecular cations.

Solute segregation and deviation from bulk thermodynamics at nanoscale crystalline defects.

It has long been known that solute segregation at crystalline defects can have profound effects on material properties. Nevertheless, quantifying the extent of solute segregation at nanoscale defects has proven challenging due to experimental limitations. A combined experimental and first-principles approach has been used to study solute segregation at extended intermetallic phases ranging from 4 to 35 atomic layers in thickness.

Li intercalation mechanisms in CaTiO, a bronze-B derived compound.

A first-principles study was performed to elucidate the electrochemical properties of CaTiO, a recently discovered compound that is a crystallographic variant of TiO(B) and that shows promise as an anode material for Li-ion batteries. The crystal structure of CaTiO was further refined and two symmetrically distinct interstitial sites that can accommodate Li at positive voltage were identified. A statistical mechanics study relying on density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicted that interstitial Li in CaTiO forms a solid solution with Li insertion resulting in a sloping voltage profile.

Dynamic Stereochemical Activity of the Sn(2+) Lone Pair in Perovskite CsSnBr3.

Stable s(2) lone pair electrons on heavy main-group elements in their lower oxidation states drive a range of important phenomena, such as the emergence of polar ground states in some ferroic materials. Here we study the perovskite halide CsSnBr3 as an embodiment of the broader materials class. We show that lone pair stereochemical activity due to the Sn(2+) s(2) lone pair causes a crystallographically hidden, locally distorted state to appear upon warming, a phenomenon previously referred to as emphanisis.

Mg intercalation in layered and spinel host crystal structures for Mg batteries.

We investigate electrochemical properties of Mg in layered and spinel intercalation compounds from first-principles using TiS2 as a model system. Our calculations predict that Mg(x)TiS2 in both the layered and spinel crystal structures exhibits sloping voltage profiles with steps at stoichiometric compositions due to Mg-vacancy ordering. Mg ions are predicted to occupy the octahedral sites in both layered and spinel TiS2 with diffusion mediated by hops between octahedral sites that pass through adjacent tetrahedral sites.

Ab initio structure search and in situ 7Li NMR studies of discharge products in the Li-S battery system.

The high theoretical gravimetric capacity of the Li-S battery system makes it an attractive candidate for numerous energy storage applications. In practice, cell performance is plagued by low practical capacity and poor cycling. In an effort to explore the mechanism of the discharge with the goal of better understanding performance, we examine the Li-S phase diagram using computational techniques and complement this with an in situ (7)Li NMR study of the cell during discharge.

Tracking lithium transport and electrochemical reactions in nanoparticles.

Expectations for the next generation of lithium batteries include greater energy and power densities along with a substantial increase in both calendar and cycle life. Developing new materials to meet these goals requires a better understanding of how electrodes function by tracking physical and chemical changes of active components in a working electrode. Here we develop a new, simple in-situ electrochemical cell for the transmission electron microscope and use it to track lithium transport and conversion in FeF(2) nanoparticles by nanoscale imaging, diffraction and spectroscopy.

Understanding Li diffusion in Li-intercalation compounds.

Intercalation compounds, used as electrodes in Li-ion batteries, are a fascinating class of materials that exhibit a wide variety of electronic, crystallographic, thermodynamic, and kinetic properties. With open structures that allow for the easy insertion and removal of Li ions, the properties of these materials strongly depend on the interplay of the host chemistry and crystal structure, the Li concentration, and electrode particle morphology. The large variations in Li concentration within electrodes during each charge and discharge cycle of a Li battery are often accompanied by phase transformations.