1. Introduction
Battery material research is a flourishing, yet challenging field in the modern-day science. On one hand, the energy consumption is constantly increasing, which creates better performance requirement for the future developments, but on the other hand, the environmental impact cannot be ignored. Indeed, the European climate law is set for EU to become climate neutral by 2050, including reducing the net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels [
1]. This sets the necessity of making improvements and innovations in both, the alternative energy sources and their storage fields. Therefore undoubtfully, the secondary, or rechargeable batteries have a great importance, and are widely researched. Even though, the Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are still dominating in the rechargeable battery market, both environmental and political issues created the necessity to shift the attention mainly towards two different directions: the recovery and even reuse of various components in LIBs, and the development of new post-LIB systems.
Development of the new system always needs the extensive research. In the battery field every component of the cell has to be designed, tested, possible problems identified, optimized and tested again in a cycle until either the satisfactory results are reached, or the reason behind the failure is identified. For this purpose, advanced structural characterization of the materials is necessary, and x-ray techniques can be considered as one of the best options. For example, the x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) is a powerful analytical tool for the spectrochemical determination of almost all elements (Z>8). It is based on the measurement of wavelength or energy, and intensity of the characteristic photons that had been emitted from the sample, in order to identify the elements inside the analyte, and to determine their mass or concentration [
2]. Therefore, it can quantifiably provide the data about the elemental composition of the material, and consequently, the dynamics of each metal inside the cathode can be tracked. Additionally, with two-dimensional setup, especially in synchrotron facilities, where high spatial resolution is available, elemental distribution throughout the sample can be investigated. This feature is particularly beneficial in the aging studies of the battery materials. Moreover, in synchrotron facilities, at the beamlines dedicated to the XRF analysis, there is a possibility to record the x-ray absorption spectra (XAS), especially the near-edge portion (XANES) on the regions of interest (micro-XANES experiment), which leads to the development of the tandem characterization technique, which covers the determination of the oxidation state of the elements with XAS, while XRF is providing the structural information, distribution [
3,
4], or morphological changes inside the material [
5].
The powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) is another essential tool for probing the long-range structure of the material, describing the crystallinity, symmetry, unit cell parameters and phase modification, that can be extremely helpful for the characterization of the battery materials, and for following the alterations inside the structure during the aging process [
6].
Even though, the research of new battery systems is proceeding with ongoing challenges, progress is still achieved. Indeed, the commercialization of the first Na-ion batteries (SIBs) by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd., in 2021, could be counted as a big step. Their cathode material is based on the Prussian White, from the family of the Prussian Blue Analogues (PBAs) [
7]. Interestingly, the other prototypes of SIBS, also based on PBAs are being developed in Sweden [
8] and USA [
9]. Alongside SIBs, other post-LIBs are also in extensively researched, including potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc etc. The latter is attractive not only as a low cost, nontoxic material, but also, in case of using Zn metal as an anode [
10,
11,
12], its high theoretical gravimetric (820 mAh g
-1) and volumetric capacity (5855 mAh cm
-3), and low standard reduction potential (-0.76 V vs. SHE) [
11] can be certainly counted as advantages.
Indeed, the family of PBAs has a great perspective in the battery field, as their open ionic channels, lead to the higher diffusion coefficient of 10
-9 to 10
-8 cm
2 s
-1 [
13,
14], and therefore, to the higher ionic conductivity. Also, the structural and dimensional stability of PBA lattice, originating from its robust and large 3D channel frameworks, leads to almost zero lattice strain towards the insertion and extraction processes [
15,
16]. The general formula of PBA can be written as: A
xM[Fe(CN)
6]
γ□
1-γ∙zH
2O, where A is an alkali metal such as Li
+, Na
+, K
+, etc.; M is transition metal ions: Fe, Co, Mn, Ni, Cu etc.; □ is a vacancy; 0 < x < 2; 0 < y < 1 [
16]. Generally, both metals (M and Fe) can be partially or fully substituted with various other transition metals, which make this family of materials extremely tunable. Also, both metal centers can be (but not necessarily) electroactive [
17], which implies to two electron redox capacity, and therefore, two alkali ion storage. Various PBAs have been reported as electrode materials for both Li-ion and post-Li-ion battery systems [
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25,
26].
Manganese hexacyanoferrate (MnHCF) is one of the simple PBAs, with attractive qualities such as safety and non-toxicity, but also, due to containing only the elements, which are widely abundant, it is relatively inexpensive and overall sustainable [
6]. In the battery field MnHCF has a perspective to be a cathode material, as it possesses relatively high discharge voltage and two active redox couples (Fe
3+/Fe
2+ and Mn
3+/Mn
2+), leading to the large specific capacity. However, Mn in oxidized +3 state is subjected to the severe crystal Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion effect [
27,
28], which is believed to be one of the reasons for the serious dissolution of MnHCF in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), forming a new Zn-containing phase [
29,
30,
31]. Heteroatom doping or partial substitution approaches are sometimes successfully adopted for the adjustment of the electrochemical properties. It is reported that Ni doping can help to relax the JT distortion in MnHCF [
32], as Ni and Mn have similar atomic radius, and therefore, during the substitution the framework remains in a good order. Notably, Ni sites are believed to be unreactive during the insertion/extraction process, and just balance the tiny structural disturbances originating from the redox reactions on the Mn sites [
33].
In this work, we followed the structural and morphological modification during the aging process of the 10% and 30% Ni-substituted MnHCF (10%NiMnHCF and 30%NiMnHCF, respectively) cathode materials from AZIBs with synchrotron based 2D-XRF, with additional XANES measurements on the regions of interest and PXRD. The application of these characterization techniques can be generalized for the various different compounds in a number of fields, of course including other battery system researches.
5. Conclusions
The 2D-XRF measurement showed the spatial distribution of the elements inside the electrode, and the modification of this distribution. XRF maps provided the visual pattern of the dissolution of Mn and Ni, starting from the borders, and Zn entering the structure exactly from the edges. Therefore, Ni was not able to provide the stability of the MnHCF structure, as it was hoped. The semi-quantitative measurement showed the dynamics of the elements inside the pellets: Ni and Mn being lower concentration in the discharged electrodes (compared to the charged ones of the same cycle), while Zn showing the opposite behavior, the equilibrium already being reached by 10th cycle. Most importantly, compositionally this equilibrium was same for the 10%NiMnHCF and 30%NiMnHCF, as they proved to contain almost identical metal ratios, effectively becoming the same material.
The XANES measurements suggested Zn to be integrated in the hexacyanoferrate framework from the first cycle. This observation was further strengthened by the PXRD measurements, demonstrating the modification of the material through the phase transformation from the face centered cubic unit cell to primitive cubic, and then partially to the hexagonal symmetry, generally characteristic to ZnHCF, with the additional monoclinic phase from the electrolyte contribution. The same compound (ZnHCF) formation was suggested by the FT-IR/ATR analysis.
On the other hand, the 2D-XRF maps showed the systematical Mn aggregations on the edges of the aged samples (already in the 10th cycle). With the overlay maps, it was evident that these regions lacked other metals, suggesting Mn to be in a different (not in hexacyanoferrate) form. XANES spectrum of Mn hotspot suggested these aggregations to mainly consist of MnO2, which was also verified by the electrochemical profile of the material after the stabilization.
Together, these x-ray techniques can provide a thorough understanding of the processes appearing during cycling of the battery system, as the tandem XRF – micro-XANES experiments are able to follow the gradual modification of the materials, understand the inhomogenization, alteration or the degradation of the electrodes: spatially with XRF images, and chemically with XANES spectra; while the multiphase changes in the long-range order domain is possible to explore by the PXRD measurements. The approach, presented in this work, can be extended to similar studies on anode or other cathode materials to be used in the next generation of the battery electrodes.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, M.G.; methodology, M.G., M.M. G.A.; formal analysis, M.M.; investigation, M.M., M.L.; resources, M.G.; data curation, M.M., M.L., I.C., M.G., G.A., J.R.P., R.D., M.G.; writing—original draft preparation, M.M.; writing—review and editing, M.M., M.L., M.G.; visualization, M.M.; supervision, M.G.; project administration, M.G.; funding acquisition, M.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Figure 1.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF Pristine ex situ electrode: (a) Mn, (b) Ni, (c) Fe. Intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity), length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 1.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF Pristine ex situ electrode: (a) Mn, (b) Ni, (c) Fe. Intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity), length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 2.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF C1 ex situ electrode: (a) Mn, (b) Zn, (c) Ni, (d) Mn and Zn overlay, Mn in red, Zn in blue. For (a), (b), and (c), intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity), length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 2.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF C1 ex situ electrode: (a) Mn, (b) Zn, (c) Ni, (d) Mn and Zn overlay, Mn in red, Zn in blue. For (a), (b), and (c), intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity), length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 3.
2D-XRF semi-quantitative analysis results showing the dynamics of Mn, Ni and Zn vs Fe in ex-situ electrodes: (a) for the 10%NiMnHCF series, (b) for the 30%NiMnHCF series; the dynamics of (c) Mn vs Fe, (d) Ni vs. Fe, and (e) Zn vs Fe in the NiMnHCF electrodes.
Figure 3.
2D-XRF semi-quantitative analysis results showing the dynamics of Mn, Ni and Zn vs Fe in ex-situ electrodes: (a) for the 10%NiMnHCF series, (b) for the 30%NiMnHCF series; the dynamics of (c) Mn vs Fe, (d) Ni vs. Fe, and (e) Zn vs Fe in the NiMnHCF electrodes.
Figure 5.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF ex situ electrode: (a) Mn C10, (b) Mn C100, (c) Zn C10, (d) Zn C100; intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity); (e) Mn and Zn overlay of C10, (f) Mn and Zn overlay of C100; Mn in red, Zn in blue. Length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 5.
Normalized 2D-XRF maps of 30%NiMnHCF ex situ electrode: (a) Mn C10, (b) Mn C100, (c) Zn C10, (d) Zn C100; intensity scale is color-based (red = high intensity; blue = low intensity); (e) Mn and Zn overlay of C10, (f) Mn and Zn overlay of C100; Mn in red, Zn in blue. Length scale – vertical bar 1000 μm (200 μm x 5 px), horizontal bar 700 μm (140 μm x 5 px).
Figure 6.
ATR-FT-IR analysis results of pristine and cycled electrodes of (a) 10%NiMnHC, (b) 30%NiMnHCF; GCPL data of: (c) stability and efficiency of the C100 of 30%NiMnHCF, (b) discharge curve after the stabilization of 10% and 30%NiMnHCF (extracted from same cycle).
Figure 6.
ATR-FT-IR analysis results of pristine and cycled electrodes of (a) 10%NiMnHC, (b) 30%NiMnHCF; GCPL data of: (c) stability and efficiency of the C100 of 30%NiMnHCF, (b) discharge curve after the stabilization of 10% and 30%NiMnHCF (extracted from same cycle).
Figure 7.
PXRD measurement results of 30%NiMnHCF ex situ electrodes: (a) Pristine, (b) C1, (c) C10, D10 and C100.
Figure 7.
PXRD measurement results of 30%NiMnHCF ex situ electrodes: (a) Pristine, (b) C1, (c) C10, D10 and C100.
Table 1.
The list of samples analyzed with 2D-XRF and micro-XANES experiments.
Table 1.
The list of samples analyzed with 2D-XRF and micro-XANES experiments.
Samples |
Description |
2D-XRF |
XANES |
10%NiMnHCF |
30%NiMnHCF |
10%NiMnHCF |
30%NiMnHCF |
Pristine |
Fresh electrode |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
C1 |
Charged after 1st cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
D1 |
Discharged after 1st cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
C2 |
Charged after 2nd cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
D2 |
Discharged after 2nd cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
C10 |
Charged after 10th cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
- |
D10 |
Discharged after 10th cycle |
✓ |
- |
- |
- |
C100 |
Charged after 100th cycle |
✓ |
✓ |
- |
- |
Table 2.
The LCF results of Mn K-edge of 10%NiMnHCF C1 cathode hotspot with components: pristine, MnSO4, MnO, Mn3O4, Mn2O3 and MnO2.
Table 2.
The LCF results of Mn K-edge of 10%NiMnHCF C1 cathode hotspot with components: pristine, MnSO4, MnO, Mn3O4, Mn2O3 and MnO2.
|
Pristine |
MnSO4
|
MnO |
Mn3O4
|
Mn2O3
|
MnO2
|
R-factor |
Reduced χ2
|
Ratio |
0.159 |
0.148 |
0.001 |
0 |
0.089 |
0.604 |
0.00255 |
0.00059 |
Error |
0.028 |
0.017 |
0.024 |
0.032 |
0.068 |
0.028 |
Table 3.
The cell parameters of different phases, presented in the series of 30%NiMnHCF cathodes.
Table 3.
The cell parameters of different phases, presented in the series of 30%NiMnHCF cathodes.
30%NiMnHCF Samples |
Cell parameters |
F m-3m |
|
P m-3m |
|
R -3c |
|
P 21/c |
a (Å) |
|
a (Å) |
|
a (Å) |
c (Å) |
|
a (Å) |
b (Å) |
c (Å) |
β (º) |
Pristine |
10.33 |
|
- |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
C1 |
10.29 |
|
11.82 |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
D1 |
10.22 |
|
11.79 |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
C2 |
10.33 |
|
11.88 |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
D2 |
10.16 |
|
11.76 |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
C10 |
- |
|
11.91 |
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
D10 |
- |
|
11.88 |
|
12.42 |
32.85 |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
C50 |
- |
|
11.99 |
|
12.48 |
32.94 |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
D50 |
- |
|
12.05 |
|
12.46 |
32.74 |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
C100 |
- |
|
11.94 |
|
12.37 |
33.08 |
|
6.23 |
13.77 |
9.91 |
125.45 |
D100 |
- |
|
11.99 |
|
12.48 |
32.94 |
|
6.16 |
13.69 |
9.77 |
126.84 |