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Transition‐Metal Carbodiimides as Molecular Negative Electrode Materials for Lithium‐ and Sodium‐Ion Batteries with Excellent Cycling Properties
Author(s) -
Sougrati Moulay T.,
Darwiche Ali,
Liu Xiaohiu,
Mahmoud Abdelfattah,
Hermann Raphael P.,
Jouen Samuel,
Monconduit Laure,
Dronskowski Richard,
Stievano Lorenzo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201600098
Subject(s) - electrochemistry , lithium (medication) , electrode , carbodiimide , transition metal , inorganic chemistry , anode , materials science , oxide , alkali metal , chemistry , metallurgy , catalysis , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , endocrinology
Abstract We report evidence for the electrochemical activity of transition‐metal carbodiimides versus lithium and sodium. In particular, iron carbodiimide, FeNCN, can be efficiently used as negative electrode material for alkali‐metal‐ion batteries, similar to its oxide analogue FeO. Based on 57 Fe Mössbauer and infrared spectroscopy (IR) data, the electrochemical reaction mechanism can be explained by the reversible transformation of the Fe−NCN into Li/Na−NCN bonds during discharge and charge. These new electrode materials exhibit higher capacity compared to well‐established negative electrode references such as graphite or hard carbon. Contrary to its oxide analogue, iron carbodiimide does not require heavy treatments (such as nanoscale tailoring, sophisticated textures, or coating) to obtain long cycle life with current density as high as 9 A g −1 for hundreds of charge–discharge cycles. Similar to the iron compound, several other transition‐metal carbodiimides M x (NCN) y with M=Mn, Cr, Zn can cycle successfully versus lithium and sodium. Their electrochemical activity and performance open the way to the design of a novel family of anode materials.