We investigate battery relevant mechanically rigid M1I0 polymer and viscolelastic M1I3 polymer, with and without Li, to understand the interplay between dynamics/mechanics and columbic efficiency in batteries. The polymer network consists of a PFPE backbone interconnected by urethane units containing H-bonds, with H atoms involved in N-H bond being responsible for polymer rigidity. When Li...
In the last two decades, the high-entropy effect has significantly enhanced the properties of materials ranging from alloys to ceramics, broadening the application fields of high-entropy materials. Intriguingly, the properties of solid-state electrolytes depend greatly on the structure, which is inevitably regulated by the introduction of various species in high-entropy materials. In this...
Stable solid electrolytes are essential to high-safety and high-energy-density lithium batteries, especially for applications with high-voltage cathodes. In such conditions, solid electrolytes may experience severe oxidation, decomposition, and deactivation during charging at high voltages, leading to inadequate cycling performance and even cell failure. Here, we address the high-voltage...
Hydrogen storage poses challenges in the hydrogen economy due to its low density. Titanium-iron (TiFe) alloys are promising for ambient-condition storage, reversibly absorbing hydrogen at room temperatures with volumetric capacities comparable to liquid H2 (~100 kgH2 m-3) [1]. However, low gravimetric capacity and oxide formation limit TiFe’s standalone use. Elemental doping and mechanical...
The new backscattering spectrometer MIRACLES at the European Spallation Source (ESS) will feature unprecedented performances combining high flux with tunable energy resolution, large accessible dynamical range, and the possibility to implement polarization analysis [1]. Here we report recent examples of how such polarization analysis could be particularly relevant to discriminate between self...
Through recent years, the importance of functional energy materials has increased due to challenges originated by the climate change, which can be mitigated by transitioning from fossil-fuel to green technologies. Considering this, solid-state batteries have emerged as a promising candidates for technological application towards this energy revolution [1]. However, the ionic conductivity,...
Phonon properties are critical for optimizing thermoelectric (TE) materials. Conventional ab-initio methods based on the harmonic approximation fail to capture temperature-dependent effects like lattice expansion and anharmonicity, causing prediction discrepancies for TE materials [1]. Anharmonic effects, reflected in phonon linewidth broadening and frequency renormalization, strongly...
Organic ferroelectrics are important functional materials for their flexible structure, low cost and applications in quantum computing, energy storage materials, electronics and medical devices [1-2]. These materials are free from toxic elements and so sustainable alternatives to traditional ferroelectrics. Most of these organic ferroelectrics are either hydrogen bonded or halogen bonded,...
Solid-state batteries offer the promise of safer and higher energy density compared to contemporary Li-ion batteries, where the main hindrance to wide-scale commercial application is the lack of a suitable solid-state electrolyte material [1]. Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) based materials show high promise as Li-ion conducting electrolytes for solid-state battery applications [2,3]. Despite the...
The present work investigates the crystallographic and magnetic properties of post-annealed magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) powder using neutron diffraction within a comprehensive temperature range (10 - 300 K). The obtained crystallite and domain size variations show a robust correlation with the magnetic properties. Further, the magnetic behaviour was investigated using zero-field cooling (ZFC)...
