Layered transition-metal oxides (Li[NiMnCo]O, NMC, or NMCxyz) due to their poor stability when cycled at a high operating voltage (>4.5 V) have limited their practical applications in industry. Earlier researches have identified Mn(II)-dissolution and some parasitic reactions between NMC surface and electrolyte, especially when NMC is charged to a high potential, as primarily factors responsible for the fading. In our previous work, we have achieved a capacity of NMC active material close to theoretical value and optimized its cycling performance by a depolarized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) network and an unique "pre-lithiation process" that generates an in situ organic coating (∼40 nm) to prevent Mn(II) dissolution and minimize the parasitic reactions. Unfortunately, this organic coating is not durable enough during a long-term cycling when the cathode operates at a high potential (>4.5 V). This work attempts to improve the surface protection of the NMC532 particles by applying an active inorganic coating consisting of nanosized- and crystal-orientated LiFePO (LFP) (about 50 nm, exposed (010) face) to generate a core-shell nanostructure of Li(NiMnCo)O@LiFePO. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and etching X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have confirmed an intimate contact coating (about 50 nm) between the original structure of NMC and LFP single-particle with atomic interdiffusion at the core-shell interface, and an array of interconnected aligned Li tunnels are observed at the interface by cross-sectional high-resolution TEM, which were formed by ball-milling and then strictly controlling the temperature below 100 °C. Batteries based on this modified NMC cathode material show a high reversible capacity when cycled between 3.0 and 4.6 V during a long-term cycling.

Transition metal oxide materials Li(NixMnyCoz)O2 (NMC) based on layered structures are expected to replace LiFePO4 in automotive Li-ion batteries because of their higher specific capacity and operating potential. However, the actual usable capacity is much lower than the promised theoretical value [Uchaker, E.; Cao, G. Nano Today 2014, 9, 499-524; Tarascon, J.-M.; Armand, M. Nature 2001, 414, 359-367], in addition to the often poor cycling performance and the first-cycle Coulombic efficiency, for which Mn(II)-dissolution, its immobilization in solid electrolyte interface (SEI), oxidation of electrolytes by Ni, and other parasitic process thereat have been held responsible [Zhan, C., et al. Nat. Commun. 2013, 4, 2437; Wang, L., et al. J. Solid State Electrochem. 2009, 13, 1157-1164; Lin, F., et al. Nat. Commun. 2014, 5, 4529]. Previously, we reported a composite Li(Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2)O2 (NMC532) depolarized by the embedded carbon nanotube (CNT) and achieved capacity close to the theoretical limit [Wu, Z., et al. Nano. Lett. 2014, 14, 4700-4706]; unfortunately, this high capacity failed to be maintained in long-term cycling due to the degrading contacts between the active ingredient and CNT network. On the basis of that NMC532/CNT composite, the present work proposes a unique "prelithiation process", which brought the cathode to low potentials before regular cycling and led to an interphase that is normally formed only on anode surfaces. The complete coverage of cathode surface by this ∼40 nm thick interphase effectively prevented Mn(II) dissolution and minimized the side reactions of Ni, Co, and Mn at the NMC interface during the subsequent cycling process. More importantly, such a "prelithiation" process activated a structure containing two Li layers near the surface of NMC532 particles, as verified by XRD and first principle calculation. Hence, a new cathode material of both high capacity with depolarized structure and excellent cycling performance was generated. This new structure can be incorporated in essentially all the NMC-based layered cathode materials, providing us with an effective tool to tailor-design future new cathode materials for lithium batteries.

The hexanitratolanthanate anion (La(NO(3))(6)(3-)) is an interesting symmetric anion suitable to construct the component of water-free rare-earth-metal ionic liquids. The syntheses and structural characterization of eleven lanthanum nitrate complexes, [C(n)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)] (n=1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18), including 1,3-dimethylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(1)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 1), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(2)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 2), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(4)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 3), 1-isobutyl-3-methylimidazolium hexanetratolanthanate ([isoC(4)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 4), 1-methyl-3-(3'-methylbutyl)imidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([MC(4)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 5), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(6)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 6), 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(8)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 7), 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(12)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 8), 1-methyl-3-tetradecylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(14)mim](3)[La-(NO(3))(6)], 9), 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimid-azolium hexanitratolanthanum ([C(16)dmim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 10), and 1-methyl-3-octadecylimidazolium hexanitratolanthanate ([C(18)mim](3)[La(NO(3))(6)], 11) are reported. All new compounds were characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR, and IR spectroscopy as well as elemental analysis. The crystal structure of compound 1 was determined by using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, giving the following crystallographic information: monoclinic; P2(1)/c; a=15.3170 (3), b=14.2340 (2), c=13.8954(2) Å; β=94.3453(15)°, V=3020.80(9) Å(3), Z=4, ρ=1.764 g cm(-3). The coordination polyhedron around the lanthanum ion is rationalized by six nitrate anions with twelve oxygen atoms. No hydrogen-bonding network or water molecule was found in 1. The thermodynamic stability of the new complexes was investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The water-free hexanitratolanthanate ionic liquids are thermal and moisture stable. Four complexes, namely complexes 8-11, were found to be ionic liquid crystals by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). They all present smectic A liquid-crystalline phase.

Transition metal oxide materials Li(NixMnyCoz)O2 (NMCxyz) based on layered structure are potential cathode candidates for automotive Li-ion batteries because of their high specific capacities and operating potentials. However, the actual usable capacity, cycling stability, and first-cycle Coulombic efficiency remain far from practical. Previously, we reported a combined strategy consisting of depolarization with embedded carbon nanotube (CNT) and activation through pre-lithiation of the NMC host, which significantly improved the reversible capacity and cycling stability of NMC532-based material. In the present work we attempt to understand how pre-lithiation leads to these improvements on an atomic level with experimental investigation and ab initio calculations. By lithiating a series of NMC materials with varying chemical compositions prepared via a conventional approach, we identified the Ni in the NMC lattice as the component responsible for accommodating a double-layered Li structure. Specifically, much better improvements in the cycling stability and capacity can be achieved with the NMC lattices populated with Ni(3+) than those populated with only Ni(2+). Using the XRD we also found that the emergence of a double-layer Li structure is not only reversible during the pre-lithiation and the following delithiation, but also stable against elevated temperatures up to 320 °C. These new findings regarding the mechanism of pre-lithiation as well as how it affects the reversibility and stability of NMC-based cathode materials prepared by the conventional slurry approach will promote the possibility of their application in the future battery industry.

As anodes for metal-ion batteries, metal phosphides usually suffer from severe capacity degradation because of their huge volume expansion and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), especially for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). To address these issues, this study proposes amorphous phosphates acting as buffer materials. Ten types of metal phosphide composites embedded with in situ-formed amorphous phosphates are prepared by one-step ball milling using red phosphorus (RP) and the corresponding metal oxides (MOs) as starting materials. A zinc phosphide composite is selected for further study as a PIB anode. Benefitting from the effective suppression of volume variation, a KF-rich SEI is formed on the electrode surface in the KFSI-based electrolyte. The zinc phosphide composite exhibits a high reversible specific capacity and outstanding long-term cycling stability (476 mAh g −1 over 350 cycles at 0.1 A g −1 after going through a rate capability test and 177 mAh g −1 after 6000 cycles at 1.0 A g −1 ) and thus achieves the best cycling performance among all reported metal phosphide-based anodes for PIBs. This study highlights a low-cost and effective strategy to guide the development of metal phosphides as high-performance anodes for PIBs.

Eight 5-aminotetrazolate (AT) salts based on the 1,2,3-trimethylimidazolium (1), 1,3-dimethylimidazolium (2), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (3), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (4), 1-isobutyl-3-methylimidazolium (5), 1-(3Ј-methylbutyl)-3methylimidazolium (6), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium (7) and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium (8) cations have been synthesized in high yields and fully characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. White plate crystals of 1 were isolated in methanol/diethyl ether and crystallized. Both the AT anion and the 1,2,3-trimethylimidazolium cation in 1 were delocalized. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) combined with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) tests were used to assess the thermal stabilities of the AT salts. These salts decomposed within the temperature range [a] College

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are a favorable alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for the large-scale electrochemical storage devices because of the high natural abundance of potassium resources. However, conventional PIB electrodes usually exhibit low actual capacities and poor cyclic stability due to the large radius of potassium ions (1.39 Å). In addition, the high reactivity of potassium metal raises serious safety concerns. These characteristics seriously inhibit the practical use of PIB electrodes. Here, zinc phosphide composites are rationally designed as PIB anodes for operation in a nonflammable triethyl phosphate (TEP) electrolyte to solve the above-mentioned issues. The optimized zinc phosphide composite with 20 wt% zinc phosphate presents a high specific capacity (571.1 mA h g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 ) and excellent cycling performance (484.9 mA h g −1 with the capacity retention of 94.5% after 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g −1 ) in the KFSI-TEP electrolyte. XPS depth profile analysis shows that the improved cycling stability of the composite is closely related to the reversible dynamic evolutions and conversions of the sulfurcontaining species in the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during the charge/ discharge process. This dynamic reversible SEI concept may provide a new strategy for the design of superior electrodes for PIBs.

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