Electrochemical Intercalation in Defective Oxide Nanosheets

非技术描述：新的和改进的电能存储方法对于手持电子设备和将新的可再生能源整合到我们的电网中至关重要。研究的重点是寻找新的方法，通过故意在形成电极的陶瓷纳米片中引入原子级缺陷来提高电池或电容器中存储的能量。人们感兴趣的陶瓷纳米片非常薄--只有5-10个原子--它们在存储能量方面表现出不同寻常的特性，从而产生了更好的电容器(称为超级电容器，它弥合了传统电容器和充电电池之间的差距)。使用新方法测量薄陶瓷纳米片中的结构缺陷，并将这些知识与测量的电存储行为相结合，为设计新的超级电容器提供了一条途径，可能会改变我们使用传统和可再生能源的方式。该项目包括一个由两名研究生和两名本科生组成的团队，并接触到参与京瓷博物馆项目的所有年龄段的校园参观者。技术细节：总体技术目标是首次定量评估有意阳离子缺陷对法拉迪克超级电容器模型单层纳米片系统中质子嵌入的电化学影响。模型体系包括MnO6和VO6八面体的纳米薄片，在合成过程中可能会引入高达20%的大比例八面体缺陷。阳离子缺陷包括带电的金属离子空位和从原子平坦的纳米薄片上移位的Mo6八面体。缺陷形成了新的质子吸附和插层位置，可以显著提高储能能力。新的X射线散射方法可以直接研究纳米片中的缺陷，而模型单层纳米片结构为确定缺陷在伪电容电荷存储中的未知作用提供了一个平台。后者可以通过定义理想的纳米和介观结构来促进超级电容器的商业化，从而具有变革性。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: New and improved approaches to storing electrical energy are critical for hand-held electronics and for integrating new renewable energy sources into our electrical power grid. The research focus is on finding new ways of improving the amount of energy stored in a battery or capacitor by intentionally introducing atomic-scale defects into ceramic nanosheets that form the electrodes. The ceramic nanosheets of interest are remarkably thin - only 5-10 atoms - and they display unusual properties for storing energy, resulting in better capacitors (called supercapacitors that bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries). Using new methods to measure the structural defects in the thin ceramic nanosheets and combining that knowledge with the measured electrical storage behavior provides a path to engineering new supercapacitors that may transform the way we use traditional and renewable energy sources. The project includes a team of two graduate students and two undergraduate students and reaches campus visitors of all ages who participate in the Kyocera Museum programs.TECHNICAL DETAILS: The overall technical objective is to provide the first quantitative assessment of the electrochemical effects of intentional cation defects on proton intercalation in model single-layer nanosheet systems for Faradaic supercapacitors. Model systems include nanosheets of MnO6 and VO6 octahedra, where large fractions of octahedral defects, up to 20%, may be introduced during synthesis. The cation defects include charged metal ion vacancies and MO6 octahedra that are displaced from the otherwise atomically-flat nanosheet. The defects form new proton adsorption and intercalation sites that may markedly increase the energy storage capacity. New X-ray scattering methods enable direct study of the defects in nanosheets, and the model single-layer nanosheet structure provides a platform to determine the unknown roles of defects in pseudocapacitive charge storage. The latter may be transformational by defining the ideal nano- and meso-scale structures to facilitate commercialization of supercapacitors.