Synthetic Approaches to Heterotrimetallic Molecular Precursors with Specific Metal Ratios for the Target Materials

美国国家科学基金会化学部化学合成项目支持纽约州立大学奥尔巴尼分校Evgeny Dikarev教授的研究项目。该项目专注于在温和条件下制造电池应用的重要材料；这就是所谓的“软化学”方法。主要目标是下一代可充电电池材料。可充电电池是日益增长的能源存储领域的关键组成部分，重点是可再生能源和绿色能源。关于可持续性问题，该项目寻求用钠、镁和铁等丰富元素有效替代昂贵金属（如铂）的策略。电池安全问题也在考虑之中。该项目为可用于制造先进可充电电池材料的新技术奠定了基础。为了支持该项目产生更广泛的影响，迪卡列夫博士正在积极参与一项与国家利益有关的计划，以建立一个新的特制药物数据库，供全国各地的法医调查实验室用于鉴定非法药物。本研究为可预测设计的异三金属化合物开发了新的合成方法，这些化合物的分子结构和比例使其成为低温制备目标材料的良好前驱体。具体而言，制备和探索前体，用于合成有前途的阴极材料，这些材料很难或不可能通过传统的高温技术获得。目标材料是可充电电池的氧化物、氟化物、硅酸盐和磷酸盐正极材料。它们含有特定的A/M/M' （A =锂，钠，镁；M， M' = 3d过渡金属）组合，这些组合在异三金属前体中重复。随着目标的广泛选择，探索了分子前体技术在复杂材料合成中的应用程度。本研究的主要实际成果是证明单一来源前驱体是否有助于制备高纯度、精确化学计量、低制备温度、纳米级颗粒形态、清洁表面，特别是金属分布高度均匀的多金属材料。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Chemical Synthesis Program of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation supports the research program of Professor Evgeny Dikarev of the SUNY at Albany. This project focuses on manufacturing important materials for battery applications under mild conditions; this is known as a soft chemistry” approach. The main targets are the next generation of rechargeable battery materials. Rechargeable batteries represent a critical component of the growing energy storage field, focused on renewable and green energy sources. In relation to sustainability issues, this project seeks strategies for the efficient replacement of expensive metals such as platinum with abundant elements such as sodium, magnesium, and iron. Battery safety issues are also under consideration. The project lays the ground work for new technologies that can be adopted for the fabrication of advanced rechargeable battery materials. In support of the broader impacts of the project, Dr. Dikarev is actively engaged in a program of national interest to create a database of new designer drugs that can be utilized by forensic investigation laboratories across the country for the identification of illicit substances.This research develops new synthetic approaches for the predictable design of heterotrimetallic compounds whose molecular structures and ratios make them good precursors for the low temperature preparation of targeted materials. Specifically, precursors are prepared and explored for the synthesis of prospective cathode materials that are difficult or impossible to obtain by conventional high-temperature techniques. The targeted materials are the oxide, fluoride, silicate, and phosphate cathode materials of rechargeable batteries. These contain specific A/M/M' (A = lithium, sodium, magnesium; M, M' = 3d transition metal) combinations, which are duplicated in the heterotrimetallic precursors. With the broad choice of targets the extent to which the molecular precursor technique can be utilized in complex materials synthesis is explored. The major practical outcome of this research is to demonstrate if single-source precursors can facilitate the preparation of multimetallic materials with high purity, exact stoichiometry, low preparation temperature, nanosized particle morphology, clean surface, and, especially, highly homogeneous metal distribution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.