Open AccessUnveiling the Magnesium Storage Mechanisms of Co-Sputtered Indium-Tin Alloy Films Using Operando X-ray Diffraction
Author(s) -
Wenrun Cui,
Meijia Song,
Guixing Jia,
Yu Wang,
Wanfeng Yang,
Qingguo Bai,
Zhonghua Zhang
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of the electrochemical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 271
eISSN - 1945-7111
pISSN - 0013-4651
DOI - 10.1149/1945-7111/ac436e
Subject(s) - tin , materials science , electrochemistry , alloy , magnesium , electrolyte , electrode , anode , reactivity (psychology) , chemical engineering , sputtering , sputter deposition , indium , metallurgy , nanotechnology , thin film , chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Tin (Sn)-based anodes have drawn extensive attention for magnesium ion batteries (MIBs) owing to their low reaction potentials, high theoretical capacities, and compatibility with conventional electrolytes. However, their poor electrochemical reactivity, sluggish kinetics, and large volume changes have obstructed progresses. Additionally, a clear understanding of the Mg storage chemistry is crucial for the development of high-performance MIBs. Here, we prepared self-supporting In-Sn alloy films with different compositions and phase constitutions via a one-step magnetron co-sputtering. As benchmarked with pure Sn film, the single-phase and biphase In-Sn alloy films effectively trigger the alloying reaction of Sn with Mg and further increasing of In significantly improves the electrochemical reactivity of the In-Sn electrodes. More importantly, operando X-ray diffraction was performed to unveil the magnesiation/demagnesiation mechanisms of the In 0.2 Sn 0.8 , In 0.2 Sn 0.8 /In 3 Sn and In 3 Sn electrodes, showing that In 0.2 Sn 0.8 and In 3 Sn display different Mg storage mechanisms when existing alone or biphase coexisting. Our findings highlight the significance of the electrode design and mechanism investigations for MIBs.