Higher energy and safer sodium ion batteries via an electrochemically made disordered Na3V2(PO4)2F3 material.

The growing need to store an increasing amount of renewable energy in a sustainable way has rekindled interest for sodium-ion battery technology, owing to the natural abundance of sodium. Presently, sodium-ion batteries based on Na3V2(PO4)2F3/C are the subject of intense research focused on improving the energy density by harnessing the third sodium, which has so far been reported to be electrochemically inaccessible. Here, we are able to trigger the activity of the third sodium electrochemically via the formation of a disordered NaxV2(PO4)2F3 phase of tetragonal symmetry (I4/mmm space group). This phase can reversibly uptake 3 sodium ions per formula unit over the 1 to 4.8 V voltage range, with the last one being re-inserted at 1.6 V vs Na+/Na0. We track the sodium-driven structural/charge compensation mechanism associated to the new phase and find that it remains disordered on cycling while its average vanadium oxidation state varies from 3 to 4.5. Full sodium-ion cells based on this phase as positive electrode and carbon as negative electrode show a 10-20% increase in the overall energy density.

A High Voltage Cathode Material for Sodium Batteries: Na3V(PO4)2.

A novel layered Na3V(PO4)2 compound was synthesized and studied as a positive electrode material for Na-ion batteries for the first time. The as-prepared material exhibits two relatively high voltage plateaus at around 3.6 and 4.0 V vs Na+/Na. Operando X-ray diffraction investigation provides insight into the mechanisms of structural transformations upon cycling.

Enhancing the Lithium Ion Conductivity in Lithium Superionic Conductor (LISICON) Solid Electrolytes through a Mixed Polyanion Effect.

Lithium superionic conductor (LISICON)-related compositions Li4±xSi1-xXxO4 (X = P, Al, or Ge) are important materials that have been identified as potential solid electrolytes for all solid state batteries. Here, we show that the room temperature lithium ion conductivity can be improved by several orders of magnitude through substitution on Si sites. We apply a combined computer simulation and experimental approach to a wide range of compositions (Li4SiO4, Li3.75Si0.75P0.25O4, Li4.25Si0.75Al0.25O4, Li4Al0.33Si0.33P0.33O4, and Li4Al1/3Si1/6Ge1/6P1/3O4) which include new doped materials. Depending on the temperature, three different Li+ ion diffusion mechanisms are observed. The polyanion mixing introduced by substitution lowers the temperature at which the transition to a superionic state with high Li+ ion conductivity occurs. These insights help to rationalize the mechanism of the lithium ion conductivity enhancement and provide strategies for designing materials with promising transport properties.

Synthesis and crystal structure of Na4Ni7(AsO4)6.

The title compound, tetra-sodium hepta-nickel hexa-arsenate, was obtained by ceramic synthesis and crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The asymmetric unit contains seven Ni atoms of which two have site symmetry 2/m and three site symmetry 2, four As atoms of which two have site symmetry m and two site symmetry 2, three Na atoms of which two have site symmetry 2, and fifteen O atoms of which four have site symmetry m. The structure of Na4Ni7(AsO4)6 is made of layers of Ni octa-hedra and As tetra-hedra assembled in sheets parallel to the bc plane. These layers are inter-connected by corner-sharing between NiO6 octa-hedra and AsO4 tetra-hedra. This linkage creates tunnels running along the c axis in which the Na atoms are located. This arrangement is similar to the one observed in Na4Ni7(PO4)6, but the layers of the two compounds are slightly different because of the disorder of one of the Ni sites in the structure of the title compound.

Common Building Motifs in Ba2Fe3(PO4)4·2H2O, BaFe3(PO4)3, and Na3Fe3(PO4)4: Labile Fe(2+)/Fe(3+) Ordering and Charge-Dependent Magnetism.

Two new mixed-valence Fe(2/3+) barium phosphates have been synthesized in hydrothermal conditions and characterized: Ba2Fe(2.66+)3(PO4)4·2H2O (compound 1, ratio Fe(3+)/Fe(2+) = 2:1, orthorhombic space group Pbca, a = 6.71240(10) Å, b = 10.6077(2) Å, c = 20.9975(5) Å, R1 = 3.39%) and BaFe(2.33+)3(PO4)3 (compound 2, ratio Fe(3+)/Fe(2+) = 1:2, orthorhombic, space group Imma with a = 10.5236(3) Å, b = 13.4454(4) Å, c = 6.6411(2) Å, R1 = 1.63%). 1 has a two-dimensional crystal structure built of [Fe(2.5+)2Fe(3+)1(PO4)4](4-) layers with charge segregation on two individual Fe crystal sites, in contrast to the single valence on these two sites found in similar layers of Na3Fe(3+)3(PO4)4. The crystal structure of 2 is formed of the same layers but condensed into a 3D [Fe(2+)2Fe(3+)1(PO4)3](2-) framework. The complete Fe(2+) vs Fe(3+) charge ordering on the two available sites differs from what was found in the two previous cases and denotes a remarkable charge adaptability of the common elementary units. Compared to the antiferromagnetic Na3Fe(3+)3(PO4)4 the partial iron reduction into Fe(2+) is responsible for strong ferromagnetic components along the c-easy axis for both 1 and 2. Additionally 1 shows multiple magnetization steps in the perpendicular direction, giving raise to atypical anisotropic magnetism into a complex magnetic phase diagram.

Selective Metal Exsolution in BaFe(2-y)M(y)(PO4)2 (M = Co(2+), Ni(2+)) Solid Solutions.

The 2D-Ising ferromagnetic phase BaFe(2+)2(PO4)2 shows exsolution of up to one-third of its iron content (giving BaFe(3+)1.33(PO4)2) under mild oxidation conditions, leading to nanosized Fe2O3 exsolved clusters. Here we have prepared BaFe(2-y)M(y)(PO4)2 (M = Co(2+), Ni(2+); y = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5) solid solutions to investigate the feasibility and selectivity of metal exsolution in these mixed metallic systems. For all the compounds, after 600 °C thermal treatment in air, a complete oxidation of Fe(2+) to Fe(3+) leaves stable M(2+) ions, as verified by (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, TGA, TEM, microprobe, and XANES. The size of the nanometric α-Fe2O3 clusters coating the main phase strongly depends on the yM metal concentration. For M-rich phases the iron diffusion is hampered so that a significant fraction of superparamagnetic α-Fe2O3 particles (100% for BaFe(0.5-x)Co(1.5)(PO4)2) was detected even at 78 K. Although Ni(2+) and Co(2+) ions tend to block Fe diffusion, the crystal structure of BaFe(0.67)Co1(PO4)2 demonstrates a fully ordered rearrangement of Fe(3+) and Co(2+) ions after Fe exsolution. The magnetic behaviors of the Fe-depleted materials are mostly dominated by antiferromagnetic exchange, while Co(2+)-rich compounds show metamagnetic transitions reminiscent of the BaCo2(PO4)2 soft helicoidal magnet.

Crystal structure of hydrazine iron(III) phosphate, the first transition metal phosphate containing hydrazine.

The title compound, poly[(µ2-hydrazine)(µ4-phosphato)iron(III)], [Fe(PO4)(N2H4)] n , was prepared under hydro-thermal conditions. Its asymmetric unit contains one Fe(III) atom located on an inversion centre, one P atom located on a twofold rotation axis, and two O, one N and two H atoms located on general positions. The Fe(III) atom is bound to four O atoms of symmetry-related PO4 tetra-hedra and to two N atoms of two symmetry-related hydrazine ligands, resulting in a slightly distorted FeO4N2 octa-hedron. The crystal structure consists of a three-dimensional hydrazine/iron phoshate framework whereby each PO4 tetra-hedron bridges four Fe(III) atoms and each hydrazine ligand bridges two Fe(III) atoms. The H atoms of the hydrazine ligands are also involved in moderate N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding with phosphate O atoms. The crystal structure is isotypic with the sulfates [Co(SO4)(N2H4)] and [Mn(SO4)(N2H4)].

Reversible topochemical exsolution of iron in BaFe(2+)2(PO4)2.

BaFe(2+) 2 (PO4 )2 was recently prepared and identified as the first 2D-Ising ferromagnetic oxide with an original reentrant structural transition driven by high-spin Fe(2+) ions arranged in honeycomb layers. Both long-term air exposure and moderate temperature (T>375 °C) leads to topochemical oxidation into iron-depleted compounds with mixed Fe(2+) /Fe(3+) valence. This process is unique, as the exsolution is effective even from single crystal with preservation of the initial crystallinity, and the structure of the deficient BaFe2-x (PO4 )2 (x

Two-orbital three-electron stabilizing interaction for direct Co2+ - As3+ bonds involving square-planar CoO4 in BaCoAs2O5.

The quest for new oxides with cations containing active lone-pair electrons (E) covers a broad field of targeted specificities owing to asymmetric electronic distribution and their particular band structure. Herein, we show that the novel compound BaCoAs2 O5, with lone-pair As(3+) ions, is built from rare square-planar Co(2+) O4 involved in direct bonding between As(3+) E and Co(2+) dz2 orbitals (Co-As=2.51 Å). By means of DFT and Hückel calculations, we show that this σ-type overlapping is stabilized by a two-orbital three-electron interaction allowed by the high-spin character of the Co(2+) ions. The negligible experimental spin-orbit coupling is expected from the resulting molecular orbital scheme in O3 AsE-CoO4 clusters.

Slow spin dynamics between ferromagnetic chains in a pure-inorganic framework.

The crystal structure of the new phase BaCo(II)2(As(III)3O6)2·2(H2O) is built from the stacking of infinite [BaCo2(As3O6)2·H2O] sheets containing ∞[Co(II)O4](6-) chains interconnected by perpendicular ∞[As(III)O2](-) chains. It shows a metamagnetic transition below ∼9 K at a critical field of ∼0.11 T, leading to a moment value of 70% of the expected saturation, related to the spin flip between individual robust canted ferromagnetic chains. We propose a field-dependent scenario with magnetic moments lying in the Co(II)O6 octahedral basal planes, fully compatible with our experimental results. Magnetic measurements under ac-field show slow spin dynamics with an intrinsic single-chain magnet (SCM)-like component slightly modified in the field-aligned regime. The characteristic relaxation time and energy barrier are about τo = 5.1 × 10(-10) s and Δτ = 35.3 K at H(dc) = 0, respectively, which falls close to values found for other (but organometallic) SCM Co(II) chains. This magnetic behavior is unique in the field of pure-inorganic compounds.

Across the structural re-entrant transition in BaFe2(PO4)2: influence of the two-dimensional ferromagnetism.

BaFe2(PO4)2 was recently prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and identified as the first two-dimensional (2D) Ising ferromagnetic oxide, in which honeycomb layers made up of edge-sharing FeO6 octahedra containing high-spin Fe(2+) ions (S = 2) are isolated by PO4 groups and Ba(2+) cations. BaFe2(PO4)2 has a trigonal R-3 structure at room temperature but adopts a triclinic P-1 structure below 140 K due to the Jahn-Teller (JT) instability arising from the (t2g)(4)(eg)(2) configuration. The triclinic crystal structure was refined to find significantly distorted Fe(2+)O6 octahedra in the honeycomb layers while the distortion amplitude QJT was estimated to 0.019 Å. The JT stabilization energy is estimated to be ∼7 meV per formula unit by DFT calculations. Below ∼70 K, very close to the ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc = 65.5 K, the structure of BaFe2(PO4)2 returns to a trigonal R-3 structure in the presence of significant ferromagnetic domains. This rare re-entrant structural transition is accompanied by a discontinuous change in the quadrupolar splitting of Fe(2+), as determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. EPR measurements show the presence of magnetic domains well above Tc , as expected for a ferromagnetic 2D Ising system, and support that the magnetism of BaFe2(PO4)2 is uniaxial (g⊥ = 0).

Puzzling polymorphism of layered Ba(CoPO4)2.

In this paper, we present the phase diagram and magnetic properties of the layered Co(2+)-based compounds of formula Ba(CoPO4)2 for which the rhombohedral γ form is well-known for its quasi-2D XY topology that is responsible for magnetization steps. The structural resolution of the new, room temperature-stable monoclinic α form shows similitude with the hydrated homologue Ba(CoPO4)2·H2O and consists of the stacking between [CoPO4](-) sheets with chain subunits. We show by means of high temperature powder XRD and thermal analyses that the α form transforms into several polymorphs also exhibiting layered architectures upon heating. Three reversible transitions at 773, 893, and 993 K were observed from DTA which allowed us to define several forms as follows: α → α' → α″ → ß. The crystallographic relationships between the several polymorphs and hydrate analogue are discussed. The α' and α″ cell parameters involve a direct relationship with the α form, whereas the trigonal ß phase was fully solved and found isomorphic with the compounds CaZn2P2O8 and BaAl2Si2O8. The magnetic study of the α form shows an antiferromagnetic ordering at T(N) = 17 K, with spins canting below T(N). Then, the analysis of the magnetic interactions paths occurring within the layers evidence superexchange paths and additional supersuperexchange paths between the chains. This scheme leads to a hexagonal frustrated topology responsible for the canted spin structure in a 2D-topology of anisotropic Co(2+) magnetic ions.