Two-dimensional materials composed of transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are poised to revolutionize energy conversion and storage. In this work, we used density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the adsorption of Mg and Na adatoms on five M 2 CS 2 monolayers (where M = Mo, Nb, Ti, V, and Zr) for battery applications. We assessed the stability of the adatom ( i.e. Na and Mg)-monolayer systems by calculating adsorption and formation energies, as well as voltages as a function of surface coverage. For instance, we found that Mo 2 CS 2 cannot support a full layer of Na nor even a single Mg atom. Na and Mg exhibit the strongest binding on Zr 2 CS 2 , followed by Ti 2 CS 2 , Nb 2 CS 2 and V 2 CS 2 . Using the nudged elastic band method (NEB), we computed promising diffusion barriers for both dilute and nearly full ion surface coverage cases. In the dilute ion adsorption case, a single Mg and Na atom on Ti 2 CS 2 experience ∼0.47 eV and ∼0.10 eV diffusion barriers between the lowest energy sites, respectively. For a nearly full surface coverage, a Na ion moving on Ti 2 CS 2 experiences a ∼0.33 eV energy barrier, implying a concentration-dependent diffusion barrier. Our molecular dynamics results indicate that the three (one) layers (layer) of the Mg (Na) ion on both surfaces of Ti 2 CS 2 remain stable at T = 300 K. While, according to voltage calculations, Zr 2 CS 2 can store Na up to three atomic layers, our MD simulations predict that the outermost layers detach from the Zr 2 CS 2 monolayer due to the weak interaction between Na ions and the monolayer. This suggests that MD simulations are essential to confirm the stability of an ion-electrode system – an insight that is mostly absent in previous studies.
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Atomistic understanding of structural evolution, ion transport and oxygen stability in layered NaFeO 2
α-NaFeO 2 shares a structure similar to many layered electrode materials in Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. In this work, first-principles calculations are carried out to gain atomistic understanding of structural evolution, ion transport and oxygen stability in NaFeO 2 . Based on the calculation results, we provide an atomistic description of phase transition and structural changes during the charging process. Meanwhile, we identify a di-vacancy assisted diffusion mechanism for Na ions and estimate the diffusion barrier that agrees with experimental data. Furthermore, we reveal that lattice strains could modulate both ion transport and oxygen stability in NaFeO 2 . A moderate 3% tension in the out-of-plane direction could render the ion diffusion barrierless. Moreover, it is predicted that in-plane compressions can stabilize oxygen and suppress oxygen evolution at high potentials. Thus, a combination of the out-of-plane tension with the in-plane compression is expected to reduce the diffusion barrier and stabilize oxygen simultaneously.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1828019
- PAR ID:
- 10104156
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2050-7488
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2619 to 2625
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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