Changes in electronic structure upon lithium insertion into Fe2(SO4)3 and Fe2(MoO4)3 investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Changes in electronic structure upon electrochemical lithium insertion into two iron compounds, namely, rhombohedral Fe2(SO4)3 with a NASICON-type structure and monoclinic Fe2(MoO4)3, were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Fe K-edge and L(III)- and L(II)-edge XAS revealed that the rearrangement of Fe d electrons or rehybridization of Fe d-O p bonding took place accompanied by the reduction of Fe ions upon Li insertion for both samples and that a larger change in spectra was observed in Fe2(SO4)3. In addition, the changes in the electronic structure of the polyanion units XO4(2-) (X = S or Mo) after Li insertion were also investigated by O K-edge and S K-edge or Mo L(III)-edge XAS. The results indicated that the electronic structure around oxygen markedly changed in Fe2(MoO4)3, while no significant change was observed in Fe2(SO4)3.     

Electrochemical property: Structure relationships in monoclinic Li(3-y)V2(PO4)3

Monoclinic lithium vanadium phosphate, alpha-Li(3)V(2)(PO(4))(3), is a highly promising material proposed as a cathode for lithium-ion batteries. It possesses both good ion mobility and high lithium capacity because of its ability to reversibly extract all three lithium ions from the lattice. Here, using a combination of neutron diffraction and (7)Li MAS NMR studies, we are able to correlate the structural features in the series of single-phase materials Li(3-y)V(2)(PO(4))(3) with the electrochemical voltage-composition profile. A combination of charge ordering on the vanadium sites and lithium ordering/disordering among lattice sites is responsible for the features in the electrochemical curve, including the observed hysteresis. Importantly, this work highlights the importance of ion-ion interactions in determining phase transitions in these materials.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of monoclinic Fe2(SeO4)3

Summary Crystals of monoclinic Fe₂(SeO₄)₃ were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. The structure was determined by single crystal X-ray methods and refined in space group P2₁/n with 2 646 independent reflections (sin /<0.7 Å^–1) toR=0.033,R _w=0.037:a=8.530 (2) Å,b=8.888 (2) Å,c=11.952 (2) Å, =91.13 (1)°,V=906.0 ų,Z=4. The crystal structure is isotypic with the monoclinic modification of Fe₂(SO₄)₃, containing two different Fe(III) and three Se(VI) atomic positions. The FeO₆ and SeO₄ polyhedra are only slightly distorted, the mean Fe-O bond lengths are 1.986 Å and 2.004 Å, the average distances within the SeO₄ tetrahedra are each 1.628 Å. The isolated FeO₆ octahedra only share corners with SeO₄ tetrahedra to build a framework structure.

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Synthese und Kristallstruktur von monoklinem Fe₂(SeO₄)₃

Zusammenfassung Kristalle von monoklinem Fe₂(SeO₄)₃ wurden unter Hydrothermalbedingungen gezüchtet. Die Struktur wurde mit Einkristall-Röntgenmethoden bestimmt und in der Raumgruppe P2₁/n mit 2 646 unabhängigen Reflexen (sin /<0.7Å^–1) aufR=0.033,R _w=0.037 verfeinert:a=8.530(2) Å,b=8.888(2) Å,c=11.952(2) Å, =91.13(1)°,V=906.0 ų,Z=4. Die Kristallstruktur ist isotyp mit der monoklinen Modifikation von Fe₂(SO₄)₃, sie enthält zwei unterschiedliche Fe(III) und drei Se(VI) Atompositionen. Die FeO₆-Polyeder sind nur gering verzerrt, die mittleren Fe-O Bindungslängen sind 1.986 Å und 2.004 Å, die mittleren Abstände in den SeO₄-Tetraedern sind jeweils 1.628 Å. Die isolierten FeO₆-Oktaeder sind nur über gemeinsame Ecken mit SeO₄-Tetraedern verbunden, wobei eine Gerüststruktur entsteht.

     

Changes in electronic structure upon lithium insertion into the A-site deficient perovskite type oxides (Li,La)TiO3

Investigation on variation of the electronic structure accompanying the electrochemical lithium insertion into the perovskite type oxide, (Li,La)TiO3, has been carried out by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). During the electrochemical lithium insertion, titanium ion reduced its oxidation state from Ti4+ to Ti3+, while La3+ does not contribute to the reduction reaction resulting from Ti K-edge and La L3-edge XAS, respectively. Furthermore, O K-edge XAS showed marked spectral changes with electrochemical lithium insertion, indicating the electronic structure around oxide ion affected by lithium insertion reaction. From the XAS measurement, we have concluded the variation observed in O K-edge XAS was related to the strong interaction with inserted Li ion. To confirm this, first-principles band calculations were performed for the perovskite structure before and after electrochemical lithium insertion. The calculated results showed that the electron originated from inserted Li transferred to neighboring oxide ion locally as well as to Ti ion. This may be due to local neutralization effect of Li to reduce the electrostatic interaction in the crystal.     

(7)Li NMR and two-dimensional exchange study of lithium dynamics in monoclinic Li(3)V(2)(PO(4))(3)

High-resolution solid-state (7)Li NMR was used to characterize the structure and dynamics of lithium ion transport in monoclinic Li(3)V(2)(PO(4))(3). Under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions (25 kHz), three resonances are clearly resolved and assigned to the three unique crystallographic sites. This assignment is based on the Fermi-contact delocalization interaction between the unpaired d-electrons at the vanadium centers and the lithium ions. One-dimensional variable-temperature NMR and two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy (EXSY) are used to probe Li mobility between the three sites. Very fast exchange, on the microsecond time scale, was observed for the Li hopping processes. Activation energies are determined and correlated to structural properties including interatomic Li distances and Li-O bottleneck sizes.     

K3Ga2(PO4)3 and Na3Ga(PO4)2

The structures of tripotassium digallium tris(phosphate), K₃Ga₂(PO₄)₃, and trisodium gallium bis(phosphate), Na₃Ga(PO₄)₂, have different irregular one‐dimensional alkali ion‐containing channels along the a axis of the orthorhombic and triclinic unit cells, respectively. The anionic subsystems consist of vortex‐linked PO₄ tetrahedra and GaO₄ tetrahedra or GaO₅ trigonal bipyramids in the first and second structure, respectively.     

The influence of plasma chemical treatments on the activity of the Li3Fe2(PO4)3 catalyst in butanol-2 transformations

The influence of plasma chemical treatments in oxygen, hydrogen, and argon on the catalytic activity of Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ was studied for the example of butanol-2 transformations. Plasma chemical treatment was found to be an effective method for increasing catalyst activity and changing its selectivity. The character of activation depends on the selection of the plasma-forming gas. The highest activity in the dehydration of butanol-2 was observed after treating the catalyst in hydrogen under glow discharge conditions.     

Structural transformation of LiVOPO4 to Li3V2(PO4)3 with enhanced capacity

In the present investigation, we report the transformation of alpha-LiVOPO 4 to alpha-Li 3V 2(PO 4) 3, leading to an enhancement of capacity. The alpha-LiVOPO 4 sample was synthesized by a sol-gel method, followed by sintering at 550-650 degrees C in a flow of 5% H 2/Ar. The structural transformation of a triclinic alpha-LiVOPO 4 structure to a monoclinic alpha-Li 3V 2(PO 4) 3 structure was observed at higher sintering temperatures (700-800 degrees C in a flow of 5% H 2/Ar). The alpha-Li 3V 2(PO 4) 3 phase was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and X-ray absorption near edge spectrum (XANES) techniques. The valence shift of vanadium ions from +4 to +3 states was observed using in situ XANES experiments at V K-edge. The structural transformation is ascertained by the shape changes in pre-edge and near edge area of X-ray absorption spectrum. It was observed that the capacity was enhanced from 140 mAh/g to 164 mAh/g via structural transformation process of LiVOPO 4 to Li 3V 2(PO 4) 3.     

Crystal structure of Li2Cu3(SeO3)2(SeO4)2

Summary Single crystal X-ray data of the hydrothermally grown new phase Li₂Cu₃(SeO₃)₂(SeO₄)₂ were measured with a four-circle diffractometer up to sin /=0.81 Å^–1 [I2/a,Z=4,V=1175.5 ų,a=16.293(6),b=5.007(2),c=14.448(6) Å, = 94.21(1)°]. The structure was determined by direct and Fourier methods and refined toR=0.034,R _w =0.027 for 2 086 independent reflections.Cu(1)^[4+1]O₅ forms a tetragonal pyramid, Cu(2)^{[4 + 2]}O₆ is a strongly elongated octahedron. The Li atom is surrounded by four O atoms forming a distorted tetrahedron. Se(IV)O₃ and Se(VI)O₄ groups are in accordance to literature, mean Se-O bond lengths are 1.714 and 1.644 Å.

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Die Kristallstruktur von Li₂Cu₃(SeO₃)₂(SeO₄)₂

Zusammenfassung Einkristall-Röntgendaten der hydrothermal gezüchteten neuen Phase Li₂Cu₃(SeO₃)₂(SeO₄)₂ wurden mit einem Vierkreisdiffraktometer im Bereich bis zu sin /=0.81 Å^–1 gemessen [I2/a,Z=4,V=1175.5 ų,a=16.293(6),b=5.007(2),c=14.448(6) Å, =94.21(1)°]. Die Kristallstruktur wurde mittels direkter und Fourier-Methoden bestimmt und für 2 086 unabhängige Reflexe zuR=0.034,R _w =0.027 verfeinert.Cu(1)^[4+1]O₅ bildet eine tetragonale Pyramide, Cu(2)^[4+2]O₆ ist ein stark verlängertes Oktaeder. Das Li-Atom ist von vier O-Atomen in Gestalt eines verzerrten Tetraeders umgeben. Die Se(IV)O₃-und Se(VI)O₄-Gruppen entsprechen der Literatur, die mittleren Se-O-Abstände betragen 1.714 und 1.644 Å.

     

Zirconium phospho-sulfates with NaZr2(PO4)3-type structure

Two new crystalline zirconium phospho-sulfates, α- and β-Zr₂(PO₄)₂(SO₄) were prepared by the gel method followed by drying and calcining at controlled temperatures. Their X-ray patterns were indexed and their infrared spectra interpreted. They belong to the NaZr₂P₃O₁₂ or [NZP] structural family, and constitute the first example with S⁶⁺ in the tetrahedral site.     

AgCo3PO4(HPO4)2

The structure of the hydro­thermally synthesized compound AgCo₃PO₄(HPO₄)₂, silver tricobalt phosphate bis­(hydrogen phosphate), consists of edge‐sharing CoO₆ chains linked together by the phosphate groups and hydrogen bonds. The three‐dimensional framework delimits two types of tunnels which accommodate Ag⁺ cations and OH groups. The title compound is isostructural with the compounds AM₃H₂(XO₄)₃ (A = Na or Ag, M = Co or Mn, and X = P or As) of the alluaudite structure type.     

Gases Released During the Conversion of NH4Zr2(PO4)3 to HZr2(PO4)3

Gases released during the conversion of NH₄Zr₂(PO₄)₃ to HZr₂(PO₄)₃ were identified using an apparatus in which gases released from a sample placed in a thermogravimetric analyzer were directly introduced to a gas cell of an IR spectrometer. Such acidic gases as N₂O and NO were detected besides the basic NH₃ gas, and their formation mechanism was discussed.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nano-structured Li3V2(PO4)3/carbon composite for high-rate lithium-ion batteries

Nano-structured Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/carbon composite (Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C) has been successfully prepared by incorporating the precursor solution into a highly mesoporous carbon with an expanded pore structure. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the structure of the composites. Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ had particle sizes of < 50 nm and was well dispersed in the carbon matrix. When cycled within a voltage range of 3 to 4.3 V, a Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C composite delivered a reversible capacity of 122 mA h g^? 1 at a 1C rate and maintained a specific discharge capacity of 83 mA h g^? 1 at a 32C rate. These results demonstrate that cathodes made from a nano-structured Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ and mesoporous carbon composite material have great potential for use in high-power Li-ion batteries.     

Complex Phosphates in the Li(Na)3]PO4-InPO4 Systems

Subsolidus sections in the systems Li₃PO₄-InPO₄ (950°C) and Na₃PO₄-InPO₄ (800, 900, and 1000°C) have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction. The compound Li₃In(PO₄)₂ has been synthesized, and the nasicon-type solid solution Li_{3(1 ? x)}In_{2 + x}(PO₄)₃ (0.67 ≤ x ≤ 0.80). has been found to exist. In the system Na₃PO₄-InPO₄, the solid solution Na_{3(1 ? x)}In_x/3PO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) and two complex phosphates exist: Na₃In(PO₄)₂ and Na₃In₂(PO₄)₃. These complex phosphates are dimorphic, with the irreversible-transition temperature equal to 675 and 820°C, respectively. Na₃In(PO₄)₂ degrades at 920°C. Ionic conductivity has been measured in some phases in the system.