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Abstract Manganese‐based materials are essential for developing safe, cost‐effective, and environmentally sustainable rechargeable batteries, which are critical for advancing clean energy technologies. However, the high spin state of the Mn cation triggers a pronounced Jahn–Teller effect and phase transformations during cycling, leading to structural instability and reduced electrochemical performance of the Mn‐based cathodes. This review provides a fundamental understanding of the Jahn–Teller effect, highlights recent strategies to mitigate the high spin state of Mn, and offers insights into future research directions aimed at overcoming the Jahn–Teller effect to enhance the performance of next‐generation Mn‐based cathodes for rechargeable batteries.
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This content will become publicly available on April 23, 2026
Advancing Mn-Based Li-Ion Battery Cathodes via a Partially Cation-Disordered Zigzag-Type Li–Nb–Mn–O Framework
Mn-based Li-ion battery cathodes encompass a great variety of materials structures. Decades of research effort have proven that developing a Mn-based structure featuring a high redox activity, stable cycling, and cost-effectiveness is a longstanding challenge. Motivated by such a need and inspired by the structural diversity of Mn-based cathodes, we develop a partially cation-disordered lithium niobium manganese oxide with a zigzag structure, filling the knowledge gap between zigzag-ordered and fully disordered Li–Mn-based oxides. Electrochemically, the partially disordered cathode greatly unlocks the redox activity of the zigzag lattice and maintains the cycling stability. Mechanism-wise, the partial disordering suppresses the disproportionation reaction of Mn(III) and facilitates a disordered λ-MnO2–tetragonal cation-disordered rock salt structural transformation. The work suggests the substantial opportunity of using partial disordering as the key strategy to revive locked-up redox activities and realize new energy storage mechanisms, for the pursuit of high-performance cost-effective battery materials.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2350193
- PAR ID:
- 10611135
- Publisher / Repository:
- Amercian Chemical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Volume:
- 147
- Issue:
- 16
- ISSN:
- 0002-7863
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 13437 to 13446
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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