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    A Mechanistic Perspective on Plastically Flexible Coordination Polymers
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Bhattacharya, Biswajit; Michalchuk, Adam A.L.; Silbernagl, Dorothee; Rautenberg, Max; Schmid, Thomas; Feiler, Torvid; Reimann, Klaus; Ghalgaoui, Ahmed; Sturm, Heinz; Paulus, Beate; Emmerling, Franziska
    Mechanical flexibility in single crystals of covalently bound materials is a fascinating and poorly understood phenomenon. We present here the first example of a plastically flexible one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymer. The compound [Zn(μ-Cl)2(3,5-dichloropyridine)2]n is flexible over two crystallographic faces. Remarkably, the single crystal remains intact when bent to 180°. A combination of microscopy, diffraction, and spectroscopic studies have been used to probe the structural response of the crystal lattice to mechanical bending. Deformation of the covalent polymer chains does not appear to be responsible for the observed macroscopic bending. Instead, our results suggest that mechanical bending occurs by displacement of the coordination polymer chains. Based on experimental and theoretical evidence, we propose a new model for mechanical flexibility in 1D coordination polymers. Moreover, our calculations propose a cause of the different mechanical properties of this compound and a structurally similar elastic material. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Dislocations in ceramic electrolytes for solid-state Li batteries
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2021) Porz, L.; Knez, D.; Scherer, M.; Ganschow, S.; Kothleitner, G.; Rettenwander, D.
    High power solid-state Li batteries (SSLB) are hindered by the formation of dendrite-like structures at high current rates. Hence, new design principles are needed to overcome this limitation. By introducing dislocations, we aim to tailor mechanical properties in order to withstand the mechanical stress leading to Li penetration and resulting in a short circuit by a crack-opening mechanism. Such defect engineering, furthermore, appears to enable whisker-like Li metal electrodes for high-rate Li plating. To reach these goals, the challenge of introducing dislocations into ceramic electrolytes needs to be addressed which requires to establish fundamental understanding of the mechanics of dislocations in the particular ceramics. Here we evaluate uniaxial deformation at elevated temperatures as one possible approach to introduce dislocations. By using hot-pressed pellets and single crystals grown by Czochralski method of Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 garnets as a model system the plastic deformation by more than 10% is demonstrated. While conclusions on the predominating deformation mechanism remain challenging, analysis of activation energy, activation volume, diffusion creep, and the defect structure potentially point to a deformation mechanism involving dislocations. These parameters allow identification of a process window and are a key step on the road of making dislocations available as a design element for SSLB.