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    Prussian blue and its analogues as functional template materials: control of derived structure compositions and morphologies
    (London [u.a.] : RSC, 2023) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Presser, Volker; Zarbin, Aldo J. G.; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Husmann, Samantha
    Hexacyanometallates, known as Prussian blue (PB) and its analogues (PBAs), are a class of coordination compounds with a regular and porous open structure. The PBAs are formed by the self-assembly of metallic species and cyanide groups. A uniform distribution of each element makes the PBAs robust templates to prepare hollow and highly porous (hetero)nanostructures of metal oxides, sulfides, carbides, nitrides, phosphides, and (N-doped) carbon, among other compositions. In this review, we examine methods to derive materials from PBAs focusing on the correlation between synthesis steps and derivative morphologies and composition. Insights into catalytic and electrochemical properties resulting from different derivatization strategies are also presented. We discuss challenges in manipulating the derivatives' properties, give perspectives of synthetic approaches for the target applications and present an outlook on less investigated grounds in Prussian blue derivatives.
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    Mechanically Stable, Binder‐Free, and Free‐Standing Vanadium Trioxide/Carbon Hybrid Fiber Electrodes for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2023) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Gallei, Markus; Husmann, Samantha; Presser, Volker
    Binder is a crucial component in present-day battery electrodes but commonly contains fluorine and requires coating processing using organic (often toxic) solvents. Preparing binder-free electrodes is an attractive strategy to make battery electrode production and its end-of-use waste greener and safer. Herein, electrospinning is employed to prepare binder-free and self-standing electrodes. Such electrodes often suffer from low flexibility, and the correlation between performance and flexibility is usually overlooked. Processing parameters affect the mechanical properties of the electrodes, and for the first time it is reported that mechanical flexibility directly influences the electrochemical performance of the electrode. The importance is highlighted when processing parameters advantageous to powder materials, such as a higher heat treatment temperature, harm self-standing electrodes due to deterioration of fiber flexibility. Other strategies, such as conductive carbon addition, can be employed to improve the cell performance, but their effect on the mechanical properties of the electrodes must be considered. Rapid heat treatment achieves self-standing V2O3 with a capacity of 250 mAh g−1 at 250 mA g−1 and 390 mAh g−1 at 10 mA g−1
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    Surfactant stabilization of vanadium iron oxide derived from Prussian blue analog for lithium-ion battery electrodes
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; El Gaidi, Hiba; Arnold, Stefanie; Pameté, Emmanuel; Presser, Volker
    Due to their high energy density, Li-ion batteries have become indispensable for energy storage in many technical devices. Prussian blue and its analogs are a versatile family of materials. Apart from their direct use as an alkali-ion battery electrode, they are a promising source for templating other compounds due to the presence of carbon, nitrogen, and metallic elements in their structure, ease of synthesis, and high tunability. In this study, homogeneous iron vanadate derivatization from iron vanadium Prussian blue was successfully carried out using an energy efficient infrared furnace utilizing CO2 gas. Iron-vanadate is an inherently unstable electrode material if cycled at low potentials vs. Li/Li+. Several parameters were optimized to achieve a stable electrochemical performance of this derivative, and the effect of surfactants, such as tannic acid, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone were shown with their role in the morphology and electrochemical performance. While stabilizing the performance, we demonstrate that the type and order of addition of these surfactants are fundamental for a successful coating formation, otherwise they can hinder the formation of PBA, which has not been reported previously. Step-by-step, we illustrate how to prepare self-standing electrodes for Li-ion battery cells without using an organic solvent or a fluorine-containing binder while stabilizing the electrochemical performance. A 400 mA h g−1 capacity at the specific current of 250 mA g−1 was achieved after 150 cycles while maintaining a Coulombic efficiency of 99.2% over an extended potential range of 0.01–3.50 V vs. Li/Li+.
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    Mixed Cu-Fe Sulfides Derived from Polydopamine-Coated Prussian Blue Analogue as a Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2022) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Presser, Volker; Husmann, Samantha
    Batteries employing transition-metal sulfides enable high-charge storage capacities, but polysulfide shuttling and volume expansion cause structural disintegration and early capacity fading. The design of heterostructures combining metal sulfides and carbon with an optimized morphology can effectively address these issues. Our work introduces dopamine-coated copper Prussian blue (CuPB) analogue as a template to prepare nanostructured mixed copper-iron sulfide electrodes. The material was prepared by coprecipitation of CuPB with in situ dopamine polymerization, followed by thermal sulfidation. Dopamine controls the particle size and favors K-rich CuPB due to its polymerization mechanism. While the presence of the coating prevents particle agglomeration during thermal sulfidation, its thickness demonstrates a key effect on the electrochemical performance of the derived sulfides. After a two-step activation process during cycling, the C-coated KCuFeS2electrodes showed capacities up to 800 mAh/g at 10 mA/g with nearly 100% capacity recovery after rate handling and a capacity of 380 mAh/g at 250 mA/g after 500 cycles.