Li intercalation in 2D iron phosphate synthesized from the partial dehydration and deprotonation of vivianite.

This study focuses on the cation intercalation of structurally unique compounds synthesized from the partial dehydration and deprotonation of coordinated water molecules in hydrous materials. Partial dehydration can potentially result in hydrous materials with a porous nature, which maintains the parent structure of the material, and deprotonation causes oxidation in the hydrous materials. Li-intercalation experiments were conducted on the hydrous iron(II) phosphate mineral, vivianite (Fe2+3(PO)·8HO), and its oxidized and partially dehydrated product, santabarbaraite.

Photoinduced Nonvolatile Displacive Transformation and Optical Switching in MnTe Semiconductors.

MnTe is considered a promising candidate for next-generation phase change materials owing to the reversible and nonvolatile phase transformation between its α and β' phases by irradiation of a nanosecond laser or application of a pulse voltage. In this work, for a faster phase control of MnTe, the response of metastable β-MnTe thin films to femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation was investigated. Using ultrafast optical spectroscopy, we inferred transient phase transformation.

Optimizing LiMnMO cathode materials for aqueous photo-rechargeable batteries.

Spinel oxides are promising for high-potential cathode materials of photo-rechargeable batteries. However, LiMnMO (M = Mn) shows a rapid degradation during charge/discharge under the illumination of UV-visible light. Here, we investigate various spinel-oxide materials by modifying the composition (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn) to demonstrate photocharging in a water-in-salt aqueous electrolyte.

Ultraporous, Ultrasmall MgMnO Spinel Cathode for a Room-Temperature Magnesium Rechargeable Battery.

Magnesium rechargeable batteries (MRBs) promise to be the next post lithium-ion batteries that can help meet the increasing demand for high-energy, cost-effective, high-safety energy storage devices. Early prototype MRBs that use molybdenum-sulfide cathodes have low terminal voltages, requiring the development of oxide-based cathodes capable of overcoming the sulfide's low Mg conductivity. Here, we fabricate an ultraporous (>500 m g) and ultrasmall (<2.