Issue 7, 2016

A high capacity thiospinel cathode for Mg batteries

Abstract

Magnesium batteries are energy storage systems that potentially offer high energy density owing to their ability to employ magnesium metal as a negative electrode. Their development, however, has been thwarted by a paucity of functional positive electrode materials after the seminal discovery of the Mo6S8 Chevrel phase over 15 years ago. Herein, we report the second such material – a thiospinel – and demonstrate fully reversible Mg2+ electrochemical cycling vs. a Mg anode, which is complemented by diffraction and first principles calculations. The capacity approaches 80% of the theoretical value at a practical rate (C/5) at 60 °C, and yields a specific energy of 230 Wh kg−1, twice that of the Chevrel benchmark. Our results emphasize the advantage in employing “soft” anions to achieve practical divalent cation mobility.

Graphical abstract: A high capacity thiospinel cathode for Mg batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
09 Mar 2016
Accepted
24 May 2016
First published
24 May 2016

Energy Environ. Sci., 2016,9, 2273-2277

A high capacity thiospinel cathode for Mg batteries

X. Sun, P. Bonnick, V. Duffort, M. Liu, Z. Rong, K. A. Persson, G. Ceder and L. F. Nazar, Energy Environ. Sci., 2016, 9, 2273 DOI: 10.1039/C6EE00724D

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