Origin of the Nonmonotonic Pressure Dependence of the Band Gap in the Orthorhombic Perovskite CsPbBr3.

The perovskite CsPbBr3 exhibits an unusual nonmonotonic dependence of the band gap on increasing pressure to about 2.0 GPa as compared to conventional semiconductors. Using the first-principles calculation method, we show that under pressure, isotropic volume deformation induces considerable compression of the Pb-Br bond length and thus an enhanced interaction between atomic orbitals of the antibonding valence band maximum states and the mostly nonbonding conduction band minimum states, resulting in a monotonic decrease in the band gap. On the other hand, structural relaxation tends to reduce the strain energy by decompressing the Pb-Br bond length and simultaneously compressing the Pb-Br-Pb bond angle, which increases the band gap energy. We find that the competition between the volume deformation effect and structural relaxation effect is the origin of the nonmonotonic behavior of the dependence of the band gap on pressure.

Tuning polaronic redox behavior in olivine phosphate.

In order to understand and improve the conductivity of LiFePO4, lots of attempts have been made both experimentally and theoretically. Here we performed hybrid density functional theory calculations to systematically investigate the electronic structures with polaronic redox behavior of polyanionic intercalation compounds similar to LiFePO4, such as in XMPO4 (X = Li, Na; M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). It is proved that the replacement of Li ions does not eliminate the polaronic redox behavior of Fe ions during delithiation and hence does not lead to a significant improvement in electronic conductivity. By contrast, replacing Fe with Mn, Co or Ni can tune the polaronic redox behavior during delithiation by varying degrees. For Ni, the polaronic redox behavior has almost disappeared, and band gaps disappear during delithiation, indicating a better electronic conductivity. For Mn or Co, the polaronic redox behavior is still obvious with little improvement in the electronic conductivity. This study provides important clues to improve the electronic conductivity of LiFePO4-like cathode materials.

Mechanism of Exact Transition between Cationic and Anionic Redox Activities in Cathode Material Li2FeSiO4.

The discovery of anion redox activity is promising for boosting the capacity of lithium ion battery (LIB) cathodes. However, fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that trigger the anionic redox is still lacking. Here, using hybrid density functional study combined with experimental soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS) measurements, we unambiguously proved that Li(2- x)FeSiO4 performs sequent cationic and anionic redox activity through delithiation. Specifically, Fe2+ is oxidized to Fe3+ during the first Li ion extraction per formula unit (f.u.), while the second Li ion extraction triggered the oxygen redox exclusively. Cationic and anionic redox result in electron and hole polaron states, respectively, explaining the poor conductivity of Li(2- x)FeSiO4 noted by previous experiments. In contrast, other cathode materials in this family exhibit diversity of the redox process. Li2MnSiO4 shows double cationic redox (Mn2+-Mn4+) during the whole delithiation, while Li2CoSiO4 shows simultaneous cationic and anionic redox. The present finding not only provides new insights into the oxygen redox activity in polyanionic compounds for rechargeable batteries but also sheds light on the future design of high-capacity rechargeable batteries.

Cationic Ordering Coupled to Reconstruction of Basic Building Units during Synthesis of High-Ni Layered Oxides.

Metal (M) oxides are one of the most interesting and widely used solids, and many of their properties can be directly correlated to the local structural ordering within basic building units (BBUs). One particular example is the high-Ni transition metal layered oxides, potential cathode materials for Li-ion batteries whose electrochemical activity is largely determined by the cationic ordering in octahedra (e.g., the BBUs in such systems). Yet to be firmly established is how the BBUs are inherited from precursors and subsequently evolve into the desired ordering during synthesis. Herein, a multimodal in situ X-ray characterization approach is employed to investigate the synthesis process in preparing LiNi0.77Mn0.13Co0.10O2 from its hydroxide counterpart, at scales varying from the long-range to local individual octahedral units. Real-time observation corroborated by first-principles calculations reveals a topotactic transformation throughout the entire process, during which the layered framework is retained; however, due to preferential oxidation of Co and Mn over Ni, significant changes happen locally within NiO6 octahedra. Specifically, oxygen loss and the associated symmetry breaking occur in NiO6; as a consequence, Ni2+ ions become highly mobile and tend to mix with Li, causing high cationic disordering upon formation of the layered oxides. Only through high-temperature heat treatment, Ni is further oxidized, thereby inducing symmetry reconstruction and, concomitantly, cationic ordering within NiO6 octahedra. Findings from this study shed light on designing high-Ni layered oxide cathodes and, more broadly, various functional materials through synthetic control of the constituent BBUs.

Ab initio identification of the Li-rich phase in LiFePO4.

A recent discovery of anionic redox activity in Li-rich layered compounds opens a new direction for the design of high-capacity cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Here using extensive ab initio calculations, the thermodynamic existence of the Li-rich phase in LiFePO4 to form Li1+xFe1-xPO4 with x not exceeding 12.5% has been proved. Anionic redox activity and structural stability during delithiation are further investigated. Interestingly, it is found that Li1+xFe1-xPO4 cannot be delithiated completely and thus cannot achieve extra capacity by anionic redox activity, because the local oxygen-ion redox will cause the fracture of the rigid framework formed by phosphate tetrahedral polyanions. Although an extra capacity cannot be realized, the excess Li-ions at Fe sites can enhance the Li-ion diffusivity along the adjacent [010] channel and contribute to the shift from 1D to 2D/3D diffusion. This study provides a fresh perspective on olivine-type LiFePO4 and offers some important clues on designing Li-rich cathode materials with high energy density.

Role of Superexchange Interaction on Tuning of Ni/Li Disordering in Layered Li(NixMnyCoz)O2.

Ni/Li exchange (disordering) usually happens in layered Li(NixMnyCoz)O2 (NMC) materials and affects the performance of the material in lithium-ion batteries. Most of previous studies attributed this phenomenon to the similar size of Ni2+ and Li+, which implies that Ni2+ should be more favorable than Ni3+ to be located at Li 3b sites in the Li slab. However, this theory cannot explain why in Ni-rich NMC materials where most Ni cations are Ni3+, Ni/Li exchange happens even more frequently. Using extensive ab initio calculations combined with experiments, here we report that a superexchange interaction between transition metals plays a dominating role in tuning the Ni/Li disordering in NMC materials. Under this scheme, we also propose a new charge compensation mechanism that describes that after Ni3+/Li exchange the nearest Co3+ transforms to Co4+ in Ni-rich NMC materials. On the basis of this theory, the existence of Co4+ in the initial Ni-rich NMC samples was predicted for the first time, which was further confirmed by our synchrotron-based soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy.