Rational design of efficient electrode-electrolyte interfaces for solid-state energy storage using ion soft landing.
The rational design of improved electrode-electrolyte interfaces (EEI) for energy storage is critically dependent on a molecular-level understanding of ionic interactions and nanoscale phenomena. The presence of non-redox active species at EEI has been shown to strongly influence Faradaic efficiency and long-term operational stability during energy storage processes. Herein, we achieve substantially higher performance and long-term stability of EEI prepared with highly dispersed discrete redox-active cluster anions (50 ng of pure ∼0.75 nm size molybdenum polyoxometalate (POM) anions on 25 μg (∼0.2 wt%) carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes) by complete elimination of strongly coordinating non-redox species through ion soft landing (SL). Electron microscopy provides atomically resolved images of a uniform distribution of individual POM species soft landed directly on complex technologically relevant CNT electrodes. In this context, SL is established as a versatile approach for the controlled design of novel surfaces for both fundamental and applied research in energy storage.
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Venkateshkumar
V
Prabhakaran
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
B Layla
BL
Mehdi
Department of Chemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
Jeffrey J
JJ
Ditto
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Mark H
MH
Engelhard
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Bingbing
B
Wang
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
K Don D
KD
Gunaratne
Department of Chemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
David C
DC
Johnson
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Nigel D
ND
Browning
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Grant E
GE
Johnson
Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN K8-88, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
Julia
J
Laskin