Zhongheng Fu

Understanding the Anchoring Effect of Two-Dimensional Layered Materials for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Although the rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery system has attracted significant attention due to its high theoretical specific energy, its implementation has been impeded by multiple challenges, especially the dissolution of intermediate lithium polysulfide (Li2Sn) species into the electrolyte. Introducing anchoring materials, which can induce strong binding interaction with Li2Sn species, has been demonstrated as an effective way to overcome this problem and achieve long-term cycling stability and high-rate performance. The interaction between Li2Sn species and anchoring materials should be studied at the atomic level in order to understand the mechanism behind the anchoring effect and to identify ideal anchoring materials to further improve the performance of Li-S batteries. Using first-principles approach with van der Waals interaction included, we systematically investigate the adsorption of Li2Sn species on various two-dimensional layered materials (oxides, sulfides, and chlorides) and study the detailed interaction and electronic structure, including binding strength, configuration distortion, and charge transfer. We gain insight into how van der Waals interaction and chemical binding contribute to the adsorption of Li2Sn species for anchoring materials with strong, medium, and weak interactions. We understand why the anchoring materials can avoid the detachment of Li2S as in carbon substrate, and we discover that too strong binding strength can cause decomposition of Li2Sn species.

Designing flexible 2D transition metal carbides with strain-controllable lithium storage

Significance The discovery of MXenes opens an opportunity on flexible energy storage. We explored systematically several factors including metal species, layer thicknesses, functional group, strain, and Li concentration on the mechanical and electrochemical properties of 2D transition metal carbides (TMCs). Taking the electrode polarization into account, we found several critical factors that govern the ionic mobility on the surface of 2D TMCs. Under multiaxial loadings, the electrical conductivity, high ionic mobility, low equilibrium voltage with good stability, excellent flexibility, and high theoretical capacity offered bare 2D TMCs the potential to be ideal flexible anode materials, whereas the surface functionalization degraded the transport mobility and increased the equilibrium voltage. General rules are proposed to identify the optimal candidate based on a combined analysis of these critical parameters. Efficient flexible energy storage systems have received tremendous attention due to their enormous potential applications in self-powering portable electronic devices, including roll-up displays, electronic paper, and “smart” garments outfitted with piezoelectric patches to harvest energy from body movement. Unfortunately, the further development of these technologies faces great challenges due to a lack of ideal electrode materials with the right electrochemical behavior and mechanical properties. MXenes, which exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, hydrophilic surfaces, and high conductivities, have been identified as promising electrode material candidates. In this work, taking 2D transition metal carbides (TMCs) as representatives, we systematically explored several influencing factors, including transition metal species, layer thickness, functional group, and strain on their mechanical properties (e.g., stiffness, flexibility, and strength) and their electrochemical properties (e.g., ionic mobility, equilibrium voltage, and theoretical capacity). Considering potential charge-transfer polarization, we employed a charged electrode model to simulate ionic mobility and found that ionic mobility has a unique dependence on the surface atomic configuration influenced by bond length, valence electron number, functional groups, and strain. Under multiaxial loadings, electrical conductivity, high ionic mobility, low equilibrium voltage with good stability, excellent flexibility, and high theoretical capacity indicate that the bare 2D TMCs have potential to be ideal flexible anode materials, whereas the surface functionalization degrades the transport mobility and increases the equilibrium voltage due to bonding between the nonmetals and Li. These results provide valuable insights for experimental explorations of flexible anode candidates based on 2D TMCs.

Domain-dependent electronic structure and optical absorption property in hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites, represented by materials in the CH3NH3PbI3 series, have become one of the most promising materials for solar cells with a high power conversion efficiency and low cost. The ordered Pb-I cage in such hybrid perovskites can induce the polarized cations to form a variety of polarization domains with long-range order, which will lead to the formation of specific atomic conformations or metastable crystalline phases, unique electronic band structures and optical absorption properties. Such domain-dependent characteristics play a critical role in the phase transition and service stability of such solar cells, and also open up the opportunity of tuning their electronic structure. In the present study, we systematically investigate the band structures and optical absorption properties of different electronically ordered domains in CH3NH3PbI3. By comparing different perovskites containing various cations, we have clarified the important influence of cation polarization on domain-dependent properties. Our results provide not only a possible pathway for the manipulation of band structure by applying an external field, but also a novel scheme for improving the performance and stability of hybrid perovskites.

Anomalous mechanical strengths and shear deformation paths of Al2O3 polymorphs with high ionicity

Alumina (Al2O3) formed by selective oxidization provides an effective way to protect aluminide alloys against corrosion for sustainable applications. Despite a broad interest and investigations on Al2O3 polymorphs such as α-Al2O3 and θ-Al2O3, their intrinsic mechanical strengths and atomic deformation mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In this research, density functional theory is used to show that the calculated shear moduli and mechanical strengths of θ-Al2O3 are substantially lower than those of α-Al2O3, and this explains why θ-Al2O3 is much weaker than α-Al2O3. An analysis of shear deformation paths and electronic structure indicates that the longest Al–O ionic bonds are responsible for the lattice instability of both polymorphs during shear, showing they have different anisotropic features. This study gives a novel view on the failure of thermally grown α-Al2O3 and θ-Al2O3, and it should help to improve the performance of thermal barrier coatings.

Phonon-mediated stabilization and softening of 2D transition metal carbides: case studies of Ti2CO2 and Mo2CO2

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes) exhibit excellent thermodynamic stability, mechanical strength and flexibility, which make them promising candidates in flexible devices and reinforcements in nanocomposites. However, the dynamic stability may intrinsically determine the preferred adsorption sites of functional groups in MXenes and lead to premature failure under finite strain before approaching the elastic limits. It is found interestingly that different adsorption sites of the functional groups correspond to the different phonon stabilities and adsorption energies of MXenes, which can be attributed to different hybridization characteristics between the metal-d and O-pz states and delocalized electron behaviors around the metal atoms. Although both Ti2CO2 and Mo2CO2 possess high ideal strengths and superior flexibility, the premature phonon instabilities appear unexpectedly in distinct manners before approaching their elastic limits. An in-depth exploration of the soft modes and deformed electronic structures reveals that a continuously decreasing gap-opening at the Γ point in Ti2CO2 increases after in-plane phonon instability due to the pseudo Jahn-Teller effect, differing from the out-of-plane phonon instability and semiconductor-metal transition under biaxial tension observed in MoS2. Although Mo2CO2 shows similar failure modes to graphene under uniaxial/biaxial tensions, the band crossings around the Fermi level are found to be responsible for its metallic character and elastic/phonon instabilities by modifying the elastic energy or electronic band energy, different from the gap opening appearing in graphene. Our results shed light onto the profound effect of the phonon instability on the preferable structure and strengths of MXenes, providing theoretical guidance on designing flexible MXene devices, raising a great challenge to the conventional strengthening theory by simply counting bonds.