Browsing by Author "Wang, AP"

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    Identifying chemical factors affecting reaction kinetics in Li-air battery via ab initio calculations and machine learning
    (Elsevier, 2021-03-01) Wang, AP; Zou, ZY; Wang, D; Liu, Y; Li, YJ; Wu, JM; Avdeev, M; Shi, S
    Redox mediators are promised to thermodynamically resolve the cathode irreversibility of Li-air battery. However, the sluggish chemical reaction between mediators and discharge products severely restrains fast charging. Here, we combine ab initio calculations and machine learning method to investigate the reaction kinetics between LiOH and I2, and demonstrate the critical role of the disorder degree of LiOH and the solvent effect. The Li+ desorption is identified as the rate determining step (rds) of the reaction. While LiOH turns from the crystalline to disordered/amorphous structure, the rds energy barrier will be reduced by ∼500 meV. The functional group of the solvent is detected as the key to regulating the solvation effect and phosphate-based solvent is predicted to accelerate the decomposition kinetics most with the strongest solvation capability. These findings indicate that the faster reaction kinetics between mediators and the discharge products can be achieved by rational discharge product structure regulation and appropriate solvent selection. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
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    Identifying migration channels and bottlenecks in monoclinic NASICON-type solid electrolytes with hierarchical ion-transport algorithms
    (Wiley, 2021-09-07) Zou, Z; Ma, N; Wang, AP; Ran, YB; Song, T; He, B; Ye, AJ; Mi, PH; Zhang, LW; Zhou, H; Jiao, Y; Liu, JP; Wang, D; Li, YJ; Avdeev, M; Shi, S
    Monoclinic natrium superionic conductors (NASICON; Na3Zr2Si2PO12) are well-known Na-ion solid electrolytes which have been studied for 40 years. However, due to the low symmetry of the crystal structure, identifying the migration channels of monoclinic NASICON accurately still remains unsolved. Here, a cross-verified study of Na+ diffusion pathways in monoclinic NASICON by integrating geometric analysis of channels and bottlenecks, bond-valence energy landscapes analysis, and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations is presented. The diffusion limiting bottlenecks, the anisotropy of conductivity, and the time and temperature dependence of Na+ distribution over the channels are characterized and strategies for improving both bulk and total conductivity of monoclinic NASICON-type solid electrolytes are proposed. This set of hierarchical ion-transport algorithms not only shows the efficiency and practicality in revealing the ion transport behavior in monoclinic NASICON-type materials but also provides guidelines for optimizing their conductive properties that can be readily extended to other solid electrolytes. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    The origin of solvent deprotonation in LiI‐added aprotic electrolytes for Li‐O2 batteries
    (Wiley, 2023-03-27) Wang, AP; Wu, XH; Zou, Z; Qiao, Y; Wang, D; Xing, L; Chen, Y; Lin, Y; Avdeev, M; Shi, SQ
    LiI and LiBr have been employed as soluble redox mediators (RMs) in electrolytes to address the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction kinetics during charging in aprotic Li‐O2 batteries. Compared to LiBr, LiI exhibits a redox potential closer to the theoretical one of discharge products, indicating a higher energy efficiency. However, the reason for the occurrence of solvent deprotonation in LiI‐added electrolytes remains unclear. Here, by combining ab initio calculations and experimental validation, we find that it is the nucleophile that triggers the solvent deprotonation and LiOH formation via nucleophilic attack, rather than the increased solvent acidity or the elongated C−H bond as previously suggested. As a comparison, the formation of in LiBr‐added electrolytes is found to be thermodynamically unfavorable, explaining the absence of LiOH formation. These findings provide important insight into the solvent deprotonation and pave the way for the practical application of LiI RM in aprotic Li‐O2 batteries. © 1999-2024 John Wiley & Sons, Inc
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    Relationships between Na+ distribution, concerted migration, and diffusion properties in rhombohedral NASICON
    (Wiley, 2020-06-24) Zou, ZY; Ma, N; Wang, AP; Ran, YB; Song, T; Jiao, Y; Zhou, H; Shi, W; He, B; Wang, D; Li, YJ; Avdeev, M; Shi, S
    Rhombohedral NaZr2(PO4)3 is the prototype of all the NASICON-type materials. The ionic diffusion in these rhombohedral NASICON materials is highly influenced by the ionic migration channels and the bottlenecks in the channels which have been extensively studied. However, no consensus is reached as to which one is the preferential ionic migration channel. Moreover, the relationships between the Na+ distribution over the multiple available sites, concerted migration, and diffusion properties remain elusive. Using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, here it is shown that the Na+ ions tend to migrate through the Na1–Na3–Na2–Na3–Na1 channels rather than through the Na2–Na3–Na3–Na2 channels. There are two types of concerted migration mechanisms: two Na+ ions located at the adjacent Na1 and Na2 sites can migrate either in the same direction or at an angle. Both mechanisms exhibit relatively low migration barriers owing to the potential energy conversion during the Na+ ions migration process. Redistribution of Na+ ions from the most stable Na1 sites to Na2 on increasing Na+ total content further facilitates the concerted migration and promotes the Na+ ion mobility. The work establishes a connection between the Na+ concentration in rhombohedral NASICON materials and their diffusion properties. © 1999-2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.