Lignin@Nafion Membranes Forming Zn Solid-Electrolyte Interfaces Enhance the Cycle Life for Rechargeable Zinc-Ion Batteries

Metallic zinc is an ideal anode material for rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), taking us beyond the lithium-ion era. In-depth understanding of the Zn metal surface is currently required owing to diverse but uncorrelated data about the Zn surface in mild environments. Herein, the surface chemistry of Zn is elucidated and the formation and growth of a zinc layer hydroxide is verified as an effective solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) during stripping/plating in mild electrolyte. The effects of battery separators/membranes on the growth of an effective SEI and deposited Zn are then investigated from the perspectives of structure, morphology, compositions, and interfacial impedance. Nafion-based membranes enable the formation of a planar SEI, which protects the metal surface and prevents short circuiting. Biomass@Nafion membranes are developed and assessed with a long cycle life of over 400 h compared with below 200 h for physical separators. The mechanism behind this is attributed to interaction between the membranes and Zn²⁺ , which enables reshaping of the Zn²⁺ coordination in an aqueous medium. Together with the advantages of using the membranes in β-MnO₂ |ZnSO₄ |Zn, our work provides a feasible way to design an effective SEI for advancing the use of Zn anodes in rechargeable ZIBs.

“Thought experiments” as dry-runs for “tough experiments”: novel approaches to the hydration behavior of oxyanions

We explore the deconvolution of correlations for the interpretation of the microstructural behavior of aqueous electrolytes according to the neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution (NDIS) approach toward the experimental determination of ion coordination numbers of systems involving oxyanions, in particular, sulfate anions. We discuss the alluded interplay in the title of this presentation, emphasized the expectations, and highlight the significance of tackling the challenging NDIS experiments. Specifically, we focus on the potential occurrence of $N{i^{2 + }} \cdots SO_4^{2 - }$ pair formation, identify its signature, suggest novel ways either for the direct probe of the contact ion pair (CIP) strength and the subsequent correction of its effects on the measured coordination numbers, or for the determination of anion coordination numbers free of CIP contributions through the implementation of null-cation environments. For that purpose we perform simulations of NiSO4 aqueous solutions at ambient conditions to generate the distribution functions required in the analysis (a) to identify the individual partial contributions to the total neutron-weighted distribution function, (b) to isolate and assess the contribution of $N{i^{2 + }} \cdots SO_4^{2 - }$ pair formation, (c) to test the accuracy of the neutron diffraction with isotope substitution based coordination calculations and X-ray diffraction based assumptions, and (d) to describe the water coordination around both the sulfur and oxygen sites of the sulfate anion. We finally discuss the strength of this interplay on the basis of the inherent molecular simulation ability to provide all pair correlation functions that fully characterize the system microstructure and allows us to “reconstruct” the eventual NDIS output, i.e., to take an atomistic “peek” (e.g., see Figure 1) at the local environment around the isotopically-labeled species before any experiment is ever attempted, and ultimately, to test the accuracy of the “measured” NDIS-based coordination numbers against the actual values by the “direct” counting.

Structure and dynamics of the hydration shells of the Zn(2+) ion from ab initio molecular dynamics and combined ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations

Results of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations (density functional theory+PBE96) of the dynamics of waters in the hydration shells surrounding the Zn(2+) ion (T approximately 300 K, rho approximately 1 gm/cm(3)) are compared to simulations using a combined quantum and classical molecular dynamics [AIMD/molecular mechanical (MM)] approach. Both classes of simulations were performed with 64 solvating water molecules ( approximately 15 ps) and used the same methods in the electronic structure calculation (plane-wave basis set, time steps, effective mass, etc.). In the AIMD/MM calculation, only six waters of hydration were included in the quantum mechanical (QM) region. The remaining 58 waters were treated with a published flexible water-water interaction potential. No reparametrization of the water-water potential was attempted. Additional AIMD/MM simulations were performed with 256 water molecules. The hydration structures predicted from the AIMD and AIMD/MM simulations are found to agree in detail with each other and with the structural results from x-ray data despite the very limited QM region in the AIMD/MM simulation. To further evaluate the agreement of these parameter-free simulations, predicted extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra were compared directly to the recently obtained EXAFS data and they agree in remarkable detail with the experimental observations. The first hydration shell contains six water molecules in a highly symmetric octahedral structure is (maximally located at 2.13-2.15 A versus 2.072 A EXAFS experiment). The widths of the peak of the simulated EXAFS spectra agree well with the data (8.4 A(2) versus 8.9 A(2) in experiment). Analysis of the H-bond structure of the hydration region shows that the second hydration shell is trigonally bound to the first shell water with a high degree of agreement between the AIMD and AIMD/MM calculations. Beyond the second shell, the bonding pattern returns to the tetrahedral structure of bulk water. The AIMD/MM results emphasize the importance of a quantum description of the first hydration shell to correctly describe the hydration region. In these calculations the full d(10) electronic structure of the valence shell of the Zn(2+) ion is retained. The simulations show substantial and complex charge relocation on both the Zn(2+) ion and the first hydration shell. The dipole moment of the waters in the first hydration shell is 3.4 D (3.3 D AIMD/MM) versus 2.73 D bulk. Little polarization is found for the waters in the second hydration shell (2.8 D). No exchanges were seen between the first and the second hydrations shells; however, many water transfers between the second hydration shell and the bulk were observed. For 64 waters, the AIMD and AIMD/MM simulations give nearly identical results for exchange dynamics. However, in the larger particle simulations (256 waters) there is a significant reduction in the second shell to bulk exchanges.

An extended ab initio QM/MM MD approach to structure and dynamics of Zn(II) in aqueous solution

Structural and dynamical properties of Zn(II) in aqueous solution were investigated, based on an ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics simulation at double-zeta Hartree-Fock quantum mechanical level including the first and second hydration shells into the QM region. The inclusion of the second shell in the QM region resulted in significant changes in the properties of the hydrate. The first shell coordination number was found to be 6, the second shell consists of approximately 14 water molecules. The structural properties were determined in terms of RDF, ADF, tilt and theta angle distributions, while dynamics were characterized by mean ligand residence times, ion-ligand stretching frequencies and the vibrational and librational motions of water ligands.

Development and validation of an integrated computational approach for the study of ionic species in solution by means of effective two-body potentials. The case of Zn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ in aqueous solutions

In this paper we have developed an effective computational procedure for the structural and dynamical investigation of ions in aqueous solutions. Quantum mechanical potential energy surfaces for the interaction of a transition metal ion with a water molecule have been calculated taking into account the effect of bulk solvent by the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The effective ion-water interactions have been fitted by suitable analytical potentials, and have been utilized in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to obtain structural and dynamical properties of the ionic aqueous solutions. This procedure has been successfully applied to the Co2+-H2O open-shell system and, for the first time, Co-oxygen and Co-hydrogen pair potential functions have been determined and employed in MD simulations. The reliability of the whole procedure has been assessed by applying it also to the Zn2+ and Ni2+ aqueous solutions, and the structural and dynamical properties of the three systems have been calculated by means of MD simulations and have been found to be in very good agreement with experimental results. The structural parameters of the first solvation shells issuing from the MD simulations provide an effective complement to extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments.