Jens Strabo Hummelshøj

Communications: Elementary oxygen electrode reactions in the aprotic Li-air battery

We discuss the electrochemical reactions at the oxygen electrode of an aprotic Li-air battery. Using density functional theory to estimate the free energy of intermediates during the discharge and charge of the battery, we introduce a reaction free energy diagram and identify possible origins of the overpotential for both processes. We also address the question of electron conductivity through the Li(2)O(2) electrode and show that in the presence of Li vacancies Li(2)O(2) becomes a conductor.

Indirect, Reversible High-Density Hydrogen Storage in Compact Metal Ammine Salts

The indirect hydrogen storage capabilities of Mg(NH 3) 6Cl 2, Ca(NH 3) 8Cl 2, Mn(NH 3) 6Cl 2, and Ni(NH 3) 6Cl 2 are investigated. All four metal ammine chlorides can be compacted to solid tablets with densities of at least 95% of the crystal density. This gives very high indirect hydrogen densities both gravimetrically and volumetrically. Upon heating, NH 3 is released from the salts, and by employing an appropriate catalyst, H 2 can be released corresponding to up to 9.78 wt % H and 0.116 kg H/L for the Ca(NH 3) 8Cl 2 salt. The NH 3 release from all four salts is investigated using temperature-programmed desorption employing different heating rates. The desorption is found mainly to be limited by heat transfer, indicating that the desorption kinetics are extremely fast for all steps. During desorption from solid tablets of Mg(NH 3) 6Cl 2, Mn(NH 3) 6Cl 2, and Ni(NH 3) 6Cl 2, nanoporous structures develop, which facilitates desorption from the interior of large, compact tablets. Density functional theory calculations reproduce trends in desorption enthalpies for the systems studied, and a mechanism in which individual chains of the ammines are released from the surface of the crystal is proposed to explain the fast absorption/desorption processes.

Density functional theory based screening of ternary alkali-transition metal borohydrides: A computational material design project

We present a computational screening study of ternary metal borohydrides for reversible hydrogen storage based on density functional theory. We investigate the stability and decomposition of alloys containing 1 alkali metal atom, Li, Na, or K (M(1)); and 1 alkali, alkaline earth or 3d/4d transition metal atom (M(2)) plus two to five (BH(4))(-) groups, i.e., M(1)M(2)(BH(4))(2-5), using a number of model structures with trigonal, tetrahedral, octahedral, and free coordination of the metal borohydride complexes. Of the over 700 investigated structures, about 20 were predicted to form potentially stable alloys with promising decomposition energies. The M(1)(Al/Mn/Fe)(BH(4))(4), (Li/Na)Zn(BH(4))(3), and (Na/K)(Ni/Co)(BH(4))(3) alloys are found to be the most promising, followed by selected M(1)(Nb/Rh)(BH(4))(4) alloys.

Experimental and computational studies on structural transitions in the LiBH4–LiI pseudobinary system

Structural transition properties of the LiBH4+xLiI (x=0–1.00) pseudobinary system were examined by powder x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry combined with periodic density functional theory calculations. We experimentally and computationally confirmed the stabilization of the high-temperature [hexagonal, lithium super(fast-)ionic conduction] phase of LiBH4 with x=0.33 and 1.00, and the results also imply the existence of intermediate phases with x=0.07–0.20. The studies are of importance for further development of LiBH4 and the derived hydrides as solid-state electrolytes.

Ammonia dynamics in magnesium ammine from DFT and neutron scattering

Energy storage in the form of ammonia bound in metal salts, so-called metal ammines, combines high energy density with the possibility of fast and reversible NH3 ab- and desorption kinetics. The mechanisms and processes involved in the NH3 kinetics are investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS). The crystal structures of Mg(NH3)nCl2 with n = 6, 2, 1, which contains up to 9.19 wt % hydrogen and 0.115 kg hydrogen L−1, are first analyzed using an algorithm based on simulated annealing (SA), finding all the experimentally known structures and predicting the C2/m structure for the uncharacterized low temperature phase of Mg(NH3)6Cl2. It is found from DFT that the rotation of ammonia in the hexammine complex (n = 6) requires an activation energy of 0.09 eV in the low temperature phase of Mg(NH3)6Cl2 and 0.002–0.12 eV in the high temperature phases; effectively having free rotors as observed experimentally. The findings are supported by the QENS data, which identify C3 rotations of NH3 in the low temperature phase with an activation energy of 0.09 eV. The calculated diffusion rates were found to be 106–107 Hz at the desorption temperatures for all n = 6, 2, 1 systems. DFT calculations involving bulk diffusion of NH3 correctly reproduces the trends observed in the experimental desorption enthalpies. In particular, for n = 6, 2, 1, there is a good agreement between activation barriers and experimental enthalpies. These results indicate that the desorption of NH3 is likely to be diffusion limited.