Carissa H. Li

Bimetallic cyanide-bridged coordination polymers as lithium ion cathode materials: core@shell nanoparticles with enhanced cyclability.

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) have recently been proposed as electrode materials for low-cost, long-cycle-life, and high-power batteries. However, high-capacity bimetallic examples show poor cycle stability due to surface instabilities of the reduced states. The present work demonstrates that, relative to single-component materials, higher capacity and longer cycle stability are achieved when using Prussian blue analogue core@shell particle heterostructures as the cathode material for Li-ion storage. Particle heterostructures with a size dispersion centered at 210 nm composed of a high-capacity K(0.1)Cu[Fe(CN)(6)](0.7)·3.8H(2)O (CuFe-PBA) core and lower capacity but highly stable shell of K(0.1)Ni[Fe(CN)(6)](0.7)·4.1H(2)O have been prepared and characterized. The heterostructures lead to the coexistence of both high capacity and long cycle stability because the shell protects the otherwise reactive surface of the highly reduced state of the CuFe-PBA core. Furthermore, interfacial coupling to the shell suppresses a known structural phase transition in the CuFe-PBA core, providing further evidence of synergy between the core and shell. The structure and chemical state of the heterostructure during electrochemical cycling have been monitored with ex situ X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption experiments and compared to the behavior of the individual components.

Li-ion and Na-ion insertion into size-controlled nickel hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles

The influence of particle size on the electrochemical properties of guest-ion storage materials has attracted much attention because of the extensive need for long cycle-life, high energy density, and high power batteries. The present work describes a systematic study of the effect of particle size on the guest-ion storage capabilities of a cyanide-bridged coordination polymer. A series of nickel hexacyanoferrate particles ranging from approximately 40 to 400 nm were synthesized by a co-precipitation method and were used as the cathode material for both Li-ion and Na-ion insertion/extraction experiments using organic electrolyte. A large polarization was observed for the largest particles during Li-ion cycling, indicating a heterogeneous ion concentration within the lattice. As a consequence, the available capacity of Li-ion intercalation at high rates is significantly improved by reducing the particle size. On the other hand, Na-ion intercalation shows excellent rate capability regardless of the particle size.