Metal Fluoride Open Frameworks for Next-generation K-ion Battery Cathodes

用于下一代钾离子电池阴极的金属氟化物开放框架

• 批准号: EP/X041565/1
• 负责人: Xiao Hua
• 金额: $ 58.73万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX041565%2F1
• 关键词: Metal; Fluoride; Open; Frameworks; Next

Recent environmental concern has raised our awareness of a low-carbon future, demanding immediate action towards sustainable energy solutions. Latest geopolitical events and rising energy prices have further stimulated a global sense of energy independence and security, calling for drastic expansion and deployment of homegrown renewable energy, such as wind, solar, tidal power etc, all of which require efficient grid storage systems for integration. It is in this context that batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), come to the spotlight. Whilst LIBs have been dominating the market for mobility applications, such as portable electronics and electric vehicles, they also make up 90% of the current global grid storage market. However, Li's scarcity in Earth's crust with an uneven geographical distribution means that the Li-ion technology is not a sustainable net-zero solution in terms of affordability and ability to secure energy independence. In contrast, originating from the same alkali-metal family, K-ion chemistry shows several key advantages in its economic viability, strategic relevance, and cycling stability, placing K-ion batteries (KIBs) among the prioritised new battery technologies for future development, especially for stationary applications.This project aims to solve the bottleneck problem in the current KIB development on cathodes and will design a library of new metal fluoride open framework (MeFOF) materials that can meet the criteria for cathode application in both cost and durability. The design strategy of these materials stems from the structure diversity and chemical flexibility of the alkali-metal-fluoride chemistry and is corroborated by the recent progress in their mechanochemical synthesis. Their crystal structures are supported by corner-shared metal-fluoride-octahedra linkages and exhibit a variety of open-channel motifs with desirable cavity sizes to host large K ions. These unique motifs not only constitute a library of advantageous topologies for facile K ion transport, but also compose a robust and flexible scaffold for reversible K ion accommodation.In this work, an emphasis will be laid on elucidating the impact of the materials' cavity sizes, structural flexibility, and chemical substitution on their electrochemical performances. Through an investigation of MeFOFs' structure-property relationships, not only will their design principle and optimisation be established to facilitate KIB commercialisation, but a novel laboratory-based instrumentation for advanced atomic structure characterisation via pair distribution function technique will also be developed to expedite the development of novel functional materials that have complex structural properties, with a broader implication beyond energy storage.

最近对环境的关注提高了我们对低碳未来的认识，要求我们立即采取行动，寻求可持续的能源解决方案。最新的地缘政治事件和不断上涨的能源价格进一步刺激了全球能源独立和安全感，呼吁大幅扩大和部署本土可再生能源，如风能、太阳能、潮汐能等，所有这些都需要高效的电网存储系统进行整合。正是在这种背景下，电池，特别是锂离子电池(LIB)成为人们关注的焦点。虽然LIBS一直主导着移动应用市场，如便携式电子产品和电动汽车，但它们也占据了当前全球电网存储市场的90%。然而，锂在地理分布不均的地壳中的稀缺性意味着，就可负担性和确保能源独立的能力而言，锂离子技术不是一个可持续的净零解决方案。相比之下，钾离子化学起源于同一碱金属家族，在经济可行性、战略相关性和循环稳定性方面显示出几个关键优势，将钾离子电池(KIBS)列为未来发展的优先新电池技术之一，特别是用于固定应用。本项目旨在解决目前KIB开发阴极的瓶颈问题，并将设计一个在成本和耐久性方面都能满足阴极应用标准的新型金属氟化物开放骨架(MeFOF)材料库。这些材料的设计策略源于碱金属氟化物化学的结构多样性和化学灵活性，并得到了其机械力化学合成的最新进展的证实。它们的晶体结构由拐角共享的金属-氟化物-八面体键支撑，并显示出各种具有理想空穴大小的开放通道基元，以容纳大容量的K离子。这些独特的基序不仅构成了钾离子传输的有利拓扑库，也构成了可逆钾离子调节的坚固而灵活的支架。在这项工作中，重点阐述了材料的空腔尺寸、结构灵活性和化学取代对其电化学性能的影响。通过对MeFOf的结构-性质关系的研究，不仅将建立它们的设计原则和优化，以促进KiB的商业化，而且还将开发一种基于实验室的新型仪器，用于通过对分布函数技术进行先进的原子结构表征，以加快具有复杂结构性能的新型功能材料的开发，其含义超出了能量存储的范围。