Dielectric polarization in MgFe_(2)O_(4) coating and bulk doping to enhance high-voltage cycling stability of Na_(2/3)Ni_(1/3)Mn_(2/3)O_(2) cathode material

Charging P2-Na_(2/3)Ni_(1/3)Mn_(2/3)O_(2)to 4.5 V for higher capacity is enticing.However,it leads to severe capacity fading,ascribing to the lattice oxygen evolution and the P2-O2 phase transformation.Here,the Mg Fe_(2)O_(4) coating and Mg,Fe co-doping were constructed simultaneously by Mg,Fe surface treatment to suppress lattice oxygen evolution and P2-O2 phase transformation of P2-Na_(2/3)Ni_(1/3)Mn_(2/3)O_(2)at deep charging.Through ex-situ X-ray diffraction(XRD)tests,we found that the Mg,Fe bulk co-doping could reduce the repulsion between transition metals and Na+/vacancies ordering,thus inhibiting the P2-O2 phase transition and significantly reducing the irreversible volume change of the material.Meanwhile,the internal electric field formed by the dielectric polarization of Mg Fe_(2)O_(4) effectively inhibits the outward migration of oxidized O^(a-)(a<2),thereby suppressing the lattice oxygen evolution at deep charging,confirmed by in situ Raman and ex situ XPS techniques.P2-Na NM@MF-3 shows enhanced high-voltage cycling performance with capacity retentions of 84.8% and 81.3%at 0.1 and 1 C after cycles.This work sheds light on regulating the surface chemistry for Na-layered oxide materials to enhance the high-voltage performance of Na-ion batteries.

Mg,Ti-base surface integrated layer and bulk doping to suppress lattice oxygen evolution of Ni-rich cathode material at a high cut-off voltage

The Nickel-rich layered cathode materials charged to 4.5 V can obtain a specific capacity of more than 200 m Ah g^(-1).However,the nickel-rich layered cathode materials suffer from the severe capacity fade during high-voltage cycling,which is related to the phase transformation and the surface sides reactions caused by the lattice oxygen evolution.Here,the simultaneous construction of a Mg,Ti-based surface integrated layer and bulk doping through Mg,Ti surface treatment could suppress the lattice oxygen evolution of Nirich material at deep charging.More importantly,Mg and Ti are co-doped into the particles surface to form an Mg_(2)TiO_(4) and Mg_(0.5–x)Ti_(2–y)(PO_(4))_(3) outer layer with Mg and Ti vacancies.In the constructed surface integrated layer,the reverse electric field in the Mg_(2)TiO_(4) effectively suppressed the outward migration of the lattice oxygen anions,while Mg_(0.5–x)Ti_(2–y)(PO_(4))_(3) outer layer with high electronic conductivity and good lithium ion conductor could effectively maintained the stability of the reaction interface during highvoltage cycling.Meanwhile,bulk Mg and Ti co-doping can mitigate the migration of Ni ions in the bulk to keep the stability of transition metal–oxygen(M-O)bond at deep charging.As a result,the NCM@MTP cathode shows excellent long cycle stability at high-voltage charging,which keep high capacity retention of 89.3%and 84.3%at 1 C after 200 and 100 cycles under room and elevated temperature of 25 and 55°C,respectively.This work provides new insights for manipulating the surface chemistry of electrode materials to suppress the lattice oxygen evolution at high charging voltage.

Thermodynamics-directed bulk/grain-boundary engineering for superior electrochemical durability of Ni-rich cathode

Introducing high-valence Ta element is an essential strategy for addressing the structu ral deterioration of the Ni-rich LiNi_(1-x-y)Co_(x)Mn_(y)O_(2)(NCM)cathode,but the enlarged Li/Ni cation mixing leads to the inferior rate capability originating from the hindered Li~+migration.Note that the non-magnetic Ti~(4+)ion can suppress Li/Ni disorder by removing the magnetic frustration in the transition metal layer.However,it is still challenging to directionally design expected Ta/Ti dual-modification,resulting from the complexity of the elemental distribution and the uncertainty of in-situ formed coating compounds by introducing foreign elements.Herein,a LiTaO_3 grain boundary(GB)coating and bulk Ti-doping have been successfully achieved in LiNi_(0.834)Co_(0.11)Mn_(0.056)O_(2) cathode by thermodynamic guidance,in which the structural formation energy and interfacial binding energy are employed to predict the elemental diffusion discrepancy and thermodynamically stable coating compounds.Thanks to the coupling effect of strengthened structural/interfacial stability and improved Li~+diffusion kinetics by simultaneous bulk/GB engineering,the Ta/Ti-NCM cathode exhibits outstanding capacity retention,reaching 91.1%after 400 cycles at 1 C.This elaborate work contributes valuable insights into rational dual-modification engineering from a thermodynamic perspective for maximizing the electrochemical performances of NCM cathodes.

Surface Doping vs.Bulk Doping of Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries:A Review

To address the capacity degradation,voltage fading,structural instability and adverse interface reactions in cathode materi-als of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs),numerous modification strategies have been developed,mainly including coating and doping.In particular,the important strategy of doping(surface doping and bulk doping)has been considered an effective strategy to modulate the crystal lattice structure of cathode materials.However,special insights into the mechanisms and effectiveness of the doping strategy,especially comparisons between surface doping and bulk doping in cathode materials,are still lacking.In this review,recent significant progress in surface doping and bulk doping strategies is demonstrated in detail by focusing on their inherent differences as well as effects on the structural stability,lithium-ion(Li-ion)diffusion and electrochemical properties of cathode materials from the following mechanistic insights:preventing the exposure of reactive Ni on the surface,stabilizing the Li slabs,mitigating the migration of transition metal(TM)ions,alleviating unde-sired structural transformations and adverse interface issues,enlarging the Li interslab spacing,forming three-dimensional(3D)Li-ion diffusion channels,and providing more active sites for the charge-transfer process.Moreover,insights into the correlation between the mechanisms of hybrid surface engineering strategies(doping and coating)and their influences on the electrochemical performance of cathode materials are provided by emphasizing the stabilization of the Li slabs,the enhancement of the surface chemical stability,and the alleviation of TM ion migration.Furthermore,the existing challenges and future perspectives in this promising field are indicated.

Tuning the Electronic Structure of Sr2IrO4 Thin Films by Bulk Electronic Doping Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy

By means of oxide molecular beam epitaxy with shutter-growth mode, we fabricate a series of electron-doped （Sr1-xLax）2IrO4 （001） （x=0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15） single crystalline thin films and then investigate the doping dependence of the electronic structure utilizing in-situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that with the increasing doping content, the Fermi levels of samples progressively shift upward. Prominently, an extra electron pocket crossing the Fermi level around the M point is evidently observed in the 15% nominal doping sample. Moreover, bulk-sensitive transport measurements confirm that the doping effectively suppresses the insulating state with respect to the as-grown Sr2IrO4, though the doped samples still remain insulating at low temperatures due to the localization effect possibly stemming from disorders including oxygen deficiencies. Our work provides another feasible doping method to tune electronic structure of Sr2 IrO4.

Effect of Crystallinity of Fullerene Derivatives on Doping Density in the Organic Bulk Heterojunction Layer in Polymer Solar Cells

Polymer solar cells （PSCs） based on poly（3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester （PCBM） are fabricated by using 1,8-diiodooctane （DIO） as a solvent additive to control the doping density of the PSCs. It is shown that the processing of DIO does not change the doping density of the P3HT phase, while it causes a dramatic reduction of the doping density of the PCBM phase, which decreases the doping density of the whole blend layer from 3.7 × 10^16 cm-3 to 1.2 ×10^16 cm-3. The reduction of the doping density in the PCBM phase originates from the increasing crystallinity of PCBM with DIO addition, and it leads to a decreasing doping density in the blend film and improves the short circuit current of the PSCs.

Cycling performance of layered oxide cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries

Layered oxide is a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries because of its high-capacity,high operating voltage,and simple synthesis.Cycling performance is an important criterion for evaluating the application prospects of batteries.However,facing challenges,including phase transitions,ambient stability,side reactions,and irreversible anionic oxygen activity,the cycling performance of layered oxide cathode materials still cannot meet the application requirements.Therefore,this review proposes several strategies to address these challenges.First,bulk doping is introduced from three aspects:cationic single doping,anionic single doping,and multi-ion doping.Second,homogeneous surface coating and concentration gradient modification are reviewed.In addition,methods such as mixed structure design,particle engineering,high-entropy material construction,and integrated modification are proposed.Finally,a summary and outlook provide a new horizon for developing and modifying layered oxide cathode materials.

Low-strain Co-free Li-rich layered cathode with excellent voltage and capacity stability

Owing to the inherent advantages of low cost and high capacity,cobalt(Co)-free lithium(Li)-rich layered oxides have become one of the most promising cathodes for next-generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries.However,these familial cathodes suffer from serious voltage decay due to many reasons,such as oxygen release and transition metal(TM)migration,which are closely related to nanoscale strain evolution.Here,by combining the synergistic effects of surface integration,bulk doping,and concentration gradient,we successfully construct a Co-free Li-rich layered cathode with a very small volumetric strain(1.05%)between 2.0 and 4.8 V,approaching the critical value of zero strain.Various characterizations indicate that the constructed zero-strain cathode can significantly suppress the TM migration,interfacial reactions,and structural degradation including cracks,lattice defects,phase evolution,and nanovoids,leading to improved voltage stability of Co-free Li-rich layered oxides during the prolonged cycles.This work provides a strategy to eliminate the lattice strain of Li-rich layered cathodes and facilitates the up-scaled application of the as-prepared cathode materials.

Fabrication of ion doped WO_3 photocatalysts through bulk and surface doping

Na＋doped WO3 nanowire photocatalysts were prepared by using post-treatment（surface doping） and in situ（bulk doping） doping methods. Photocatalytic degradation of Methyl Blue was tested under visible light irradiation, the results showed that 1 wt.% Na＋bulk-doped WO3 performed better, with higher photoactivity than surface-doped WO3. Photoelectrochemical characterization revealed the differences in the photocatalytic process for surface doping and bulk doping. Uniform bulk doping could generate more electron–hole pairs, while minimizing the chance of electron–hole recombination. Some bulk properties such as the bandgap, Fermi level and band position could also be adjusted by bulk doping, but not by surface doping.