Rubik's cube PBA frameworks for optimizing the electrochemical performance in alkali metal-ion batteries

PBA frameworks have stood out among metal-organic frameworks because of their easy preparation, excellent stability, porous structures, and rich redox properties. Unfortunately, their non-ideal conductivity and significant volume expansion during cycling prevent more widespread application in alkali-metal-ion (Li+, Na+, and K+) batteries. By changing the type and molar ratio of metal ions, Rubik's PBA frameworks with infinite structural variations were obtained in this study, just like the Rubik's cube undergoes infinite changes during the rotation. X-ray adsorption fine structure measurements have documented the existence and determined the coordination environment of the metal ions in the Rubik's PBA framework. Benefiting from the more stable Rubik's cube structures with diverse composition, enhanced conductivity, and greater adsorption capacity, the obtained Rubik's cubes CoM-PBA anodes, especially CoZn-PBA deliver the enhanced cycling and rate performance in all the alkali-metal-ion batteries. The findings are supported by density functional theory calculations. Ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and in-situ X-ray diffraction measurements were undertaken to explore the storage mechanism of CoZn-PBA anodes. Our results further demonstrate that the Rubik's cube PBA framework-based materials could be widely applied in the field of alkali-metal-ion batteries.

Nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated zinc vanadate polyhedron engineered from a metal-organic framework as a stable anode for alkali ion batteries

In this work, we fabricated vanadium/zinc metal-organic frameworks (V/Zn-MOFs) derived from self-assembled metal organic frameworks, to further disperse ultrasmall Zn₂VO₄ nanoparticles and encapsulate them in a nitrogen-doped nanocarbon network (ZVO/NC) under in situ pyrolysis. When employed as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, ZVO/NC delivers a high reversible capacity (807 mAh g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1) and excellent rate performance (372 mAh g^-1 at 8.0 A g^-1). Meanwhile, when used in sodium-ion batteries, it exhibits long-term cycling stability (7000 cycles with 145 mAh g^-1 at 2.0 A g^-1). Additionally, when employed in potassium-ion batteries, it also shows outstanding electrochemical performance with reversible capacities of 264 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 and 140 mAh g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1 for 1000 cycles. The mechanism by which the pseudocapacitive behaviour of ZVO/NC enhances battery performance under a suitable electrolyte was probed, which offers useful enlightenment for the potential development of anodes of alkali-ion batteries. The performance of Zn₂VO₄ as an anode for SIBs/PIBs was investigated for the first time. This work provides a new horizon in the design ZVO/NC as a promising anode material owing to the intrinsically synergic effects of mixed metal species and the multiple valence states of V.

Spinel rGO Wrapped CoV2O4 Nanocomposite as a Novel Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Binary mixed transition-based metal oxides have some of the most potential as anode materials for rechargeable advanced battery systems due to their high theoretical capacity and tremendous electrochemical performance. Nonetheless, binary metal oxides still endure low electronic conductivity and huge volume expansion during the charge/discharge processes. In this study, we synthesized a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-wrapped CoV2O4 material as the anode for sodium ion batteries. The X-ray diffraction analyses revealed pure-phased CoV2O4 (CVO) rGO-wrapped CoV2O4 (CVO/rGO) nanoparticles. The capacity retention of the CVO/rGO composite anode demonstrated 81.6% at the current density of 200 mA/g for more than 1000 cycles, which was better than that of the bare one of only 73.5% retention. The as-synthesized CVO/rGO exhibited remarkable cyclic stability and rate capability. The reaction mechanism of the CoV2O4 anode with sodium ions was firstly studied in terms of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ex situ XRD analyses. These results articulated the manner of utilizing the graphene oxide-coated spinel-based novel anode-CoV2O4 as a potential anode for sodium ion batteries.

Implications of including a magnetic ion (Cr3+ and Fe3+) at the vanadium site in a geometrically frustrated spinel MgV2O4: magnetic and catalytic properties

The vanadium sublattice in a geometrically frustrated MgV2O4 is substituted partially with Cr3+ and Fe3+. With a successful Rietveld refinement of the powder X-ray diffraction patterns of MgVCrO4 and MgVFeO4, Cr and Fe occupy the octahedral sites of a spinel structure. Extensive field-dependent and temperature magnetic measurements on these samples reveal exciting results. MgV2O4 remains paramagnetic till 3 K, with a small divergence at around 20 K between ZFC and FC data. MgVCrO4 exhibits antiferromagnetic behavior with a Néel temperature of 13.6 K. MgVFeO4 shows spin-glass behavior resulting from the frustration with a glass transition temperature of 194 K. This sample shows a typical ferromagnetic behavior, with a coercivity of 194.5 Oe within an applied field of ±2 kOe. All three systems have been found to have a frustration index in the range of 1-25, and the effective magnetic moment decreases in the order MgVFeO4 > MgVCrO4 > MgV2O4. While the inclusion of chromium does not alter the bandgap of MgV2O4, iron substitution increases the bandgap. The partial replacement of V3+ with Cr3+ and Fe3+ increases the catalytic ability of the system in terms of the oxidative degradation of methylene blue dye. The catalytic efficiency follows the order MgVFeO4 > MgVCrO4 > MgV2O4, matching well with the trend noticed in the porosity, surface area, and redox ability of Fe3+, Cr3+ and V3+ in these samples. The degradation pathway has been followed by analyzing the intermediates from these experiments by mass spectrometry, and a plausible mechanism is proposed.