Comparison of tetragonal and cubic tin as anode for Mg ion batteries.

Using first-principles calculation based on density functional theory, diffusion of Mg atom into α- and ß-Sn was investigated. The diffusion barriers are 0.395 and 0.435 eV for an isolated Mg atom in the α- and ß-Sn, respectively. However, the diffusion barriers of the Mg atom decrease in the α-Sn, whereas they increase in the ß-Sn, when an additional Mg atom was inserted near the original diffusing Mg atom, which is mainly due to strong binding of Mg-Mg atoms in the ß-Sn. Therefore, it is better to use the α-Sn, rather than the ß-Sn, as an anode material for Mg ion batteries.

Controlling magnetism of MoS2 sheets by embedding transition-metal atoms and applying strain.

Prompted by recent experimental achievement of transition metal (TM) atoms substituted in MoS2 nanostructures during growth or saturating existing vacancies (Sun et al., ACS Nano, 2013, 7, 3506; Deepak et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129, 12549), we explored, via density functional theory, the magnetic properties of a series of 3d TM atoms substituted in a MoS2 sheet, and found that Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn substitutions can induce magnetism in the MoS2 sheet. The localizing unpaired 3d electrons of TM atoms respond to the introduction of a magnetic moment. Depending on the species of TM atoms, the substituted MoS2 sheet can be a metal, semiconductor or half-metal. Remarkably, the applied elastic strain can be used to control the strength of the spin-splitting of TM-3d orbitals, leading to an effective manipulation of the magnetism of the TM-substituted MoS2 sheet. We found that the magnetic moment of the Mn- and Fe-substituted MoS2 sheets can monotonously increase with the increase of tensile strain, while the magnetic moment of Co-, Ni-, Cu- and Zn-substituted MoS2 sheets initially increases and then decreases with the increase of tensile strain. An instructive mechanism was proposed to qualitatively explain the variation of magnetism with elastic strain. The finding of the magnetoelastic effect here is technologically important for the fabrication of strain-driven spin devices on MoS2 nanostructures, which allows us to go beyond the current scope limited to the spin devices within graphene and BN-based nanostructures.

Single-layered V2O5 a promising cathode material for rechargeable Li and Mg ion batteries: an ab initio study.

Using first principles calculations based on density functional theory, the adsorption and diffusion properties of Li and Mg atoms on single-layered and bulk V2O5 are investigated. The simulation results show that the diffusion barrier of Li on the single-layered V2O5 is decreased compared with that of the bulk V2O5, which indicates that the Li mobility can be significantly enhanced on the single-layered V2O5. The increased binding energies of Li to single-layered V2O5 make them more attractive for promising cathode materials. Although the diffusion barrier of Mg on the single-layered V2O5 does not decrease, the binding energies of Mg to single-layered V2O5 is increased compared with that of bulk V2O5, thus the single-layered V2O5 is an attractive cathode material for rechargeable ion batteries.