Battery Cathode

Battery Cathode

Magnesium-ion based batteries promise a competitive alternative to conventional lithium-ion battery technology. Batteries combining Mg metal anode with a suitable intercalation-based cathode can offer much higher volumetric energy density, as well as significant cost and safety benefits over lithium ion batteries. Recent first-principles and experimental reports have established that orthorhombic α-V2O5 is a promising intercalation cathode for Mg ion batteries. However, several crucial aspects of the intercalation phenomenon, such as the specific intercalation sites for Mg within α-V2O5 or the formation of different phases upon Mg insertion into α-V2O5 remain unclear. Further systematic characterization of the Mg intercalation behaviour is therefore required.

 

We focus on systematic investigation of Mg intercalation into various V2O5  polymorphs by combining aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging, electron diffraction, electron energy loss (EEL) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (XEDS). Specifically, the Li or Mg insertion sites for α-V2O5 cathodes, ε-Mg0.5V2O5 and ζ-V2O5 phases are quantified and compared with earlier first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations.


References associated:

Andrews, J. L.; Mukherjee, A.; Yoo, H. D.; Parija, A.; Marley, P. M.; Fakra, S.; Prendergast, D.; Cabana, J.; Klie, R. F.; Banerjee, S., Reversible Mg-Ion Insertion in a Metastable One-Dimensional Polymorph of V2O5. Chem 2018, 4 (3), 564-585.

Asadi, M.; Sayahpour, B.; Abbasi, P.; Ngo, A. T.; Karis, K.; Jokisaari, J. R.; Liu, C.; Narayanan, B.; Gerard, M.; Yasaei, P.; Hu, X.; Mukherjee, A.; Lau, K. C.; Assary, R. S.; Khalili-Araghi, F.; Klie, R. F.; Curtiss, L. A.; Salehi-Khojin, A., A lithium-oxygen battery with a long cycle life in an air-like atmosphere. Nature 2018, 555 (7697), 502-+.

Mukherjee, A.; Ardakani, H. A.; Yi, T.; Cabana, J.; Shahbazian-Yassar, R.; Klie, R. F., Direct characterization of the Li intercalation mechanism into α-V2O5 nanowires using in-situ transmission electron microscopy. Applied Physics Letters 2017, 110 (21), 213903.