Electrochemical reactivity of In-Pb solid solution as a negative electrode for rechargeable Mg-ion batteries

A composite In-Pb:carbon was successfully synthetized by a two-step mechanochemical synthesis in order to obtain an adequate particles size and structure to investigate the electrochemical reactivity of the In-Pb solid solution towards Mg.A potential synergetic coupling of electroactive elements In and Pb was examined using electrochemical and ex situ X-ray diffraction analyses.The potential profile of the solid solution indicates the formation of Mg₂Pb and Mg In.However,the diffraction study suggests a peculiar electrochemically-driven amorphization of Mg In during the magnesiation,in strong contrast to Mg In crystallization in In-based and In Bi-based electrodes reported in the literature.Combining In and Pb favors the amorphization of Mg In and a high first magnesiation capacity of about 550 m Ah g^-1,but is thereafter detrimental to the material’s reversibility.These results emphasize the possible influence of electrochemically-driven amorphization and crystallization processes on electrochemical performance of battery materials.     

Experimental Investigation of Pure Spinel Mn3O4 Properties Synthesized through Chemical Spray Pyrolysis for Future Gas Sensor Application

The semiconductor realization is a very significant stage in gas sensor application. Herein, the Mn₃O₄ semiconductor was deposited using chemical spray pyrolysis. The effect of deposition temperature on structural, vibrational optical and electrical Mn₃O₄ thin layers properties were investigated through: X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible spectrophotometer, and two points electrometers respectively. The X-ray diffraction showed the appearance of spinel phase of tetragonal Mn₃O₄ with strong formation direction along (101) plan and without any secondary phase indicating the formation of pure Mn₃O₄. The Raman spectroscopy confirmed the results obtained in XRD and certified the high-quality formation of Mn₃O₄. In addition, the crystallinity improvement (the increase of crystallite size and the decrease of dislocation density) was caused by the increasing of deposition temperature from 350 °C to 450 °C. Optical properties such as transmittance, absorbance and band gap energy were extracted by UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Thus, low transmittance, high absorbance and small band gap energy were observed at the highest substrate temperature (450 °C). The electrical conductivity showed good values between 4.83 and 13.89 mS.cm⁻¹. These properties make Mn₃O₄ an appropriate material to be used as a sensitive layer in gas sensors applications.