
Sang Jun Lee
Staff Engineer, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/people/sangjunlee
Education & Certifications
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Ph.D, Seoul National University, Physics (2012)
Work Experience
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Postdoctoral Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (August 20, 2012 - August 19, 2015)
Location
Greenbelt, MD
All Publications
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Coupling Anionic Oxygen Redox with Selenium for Stable High-Voltage Sodium Layered Oxide Cathodes
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
2024
View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.202417758
View details for Web of Science ID 001383179500001
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Ultrathin Boron Growth onto Nanodiamond Surfaces via Electrophilic Boron Precursors.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
2024; 14 (15)
Abstract
Diamond as a templating substrate is largely unexplored, and the unique properties of diamond, including its large bandgap, thermal conductance, and lack of cytotoxicity, makes it versatile in emergent technologies in medicine and quantum sensing. Surface termination of an inert diamond substrate and its chemical reactivity are key in generating new bonds for nucleation and growth of an overlayer material. Oxidized high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) nanodiamonds (NDs) are largely terminated by alcohols that act as nucleophiles to initiate covalent bond formation when an electrophilic reactant is available. In this work, we demonstrate a templated synthesis of ultrathin boron on ND surfaces using trigonal boron compounds. Boron trichloride (BCl3), boron tribromide (BBr3), and borane (BH3) were found to react with ND substrates at room temperature in inert conditions. BBr3 and BCl3 were highly reactive with the diamond surface, and sheet-like structures were produced and verified with electron microscopy. Surface-sensitive spectroscopies were used to probe the molecular and atomic structure of the ND constructs' surface, and quantification showed the boron shell was less than 1 nm thick after 1-24 h reactions. Observation of the reaction supports a self-terminating mechanism, similar to atomic layer deposition growth, and is likely due to the quenching of alcohols on the diamond surface. X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that boron-termination generated midgap electronic states that were originally predicted by density functional theory (DFT) several years ago. DFT also predicted a negative electron surface, which has yet to be confirmed experimentally here. The boron-diamond nanostructures were found to aggregate in dichloromethane and were dispersed in various solvents and characterized with dynamic light scattering for future cell imaging or cancer therapy applications using boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The unique templating mechanism based on nucleophilic alcohols and electrophilic trigonal precursors allows for covalent bond formation and will be of interest to researchers using diamond for quantum sensing, additive manufacturing, BNCT, and potentially as an electron emitter.
View details for DOI 10.3390/nano14151274
View details for PubMedID 39120380
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Quantum Diamonds at the Beach: Chemical Insights into Silica Growth on Nanoscale Diamond using Multimodal Characterization and Simulation.
ACS nanoscience Au
2023; 3 (6): 462-474
Abstract
Surface chemistry of materials that host quantum bits such as diamond is an important avenue of exploration as quantum computation and quantum sensing platforms mature. Interfacing diamond in general and nanoscale diamond (ND) in particular with silica is a potential route to integrate room temperature quantum bits into photonic devices, fiber optics, cells, or tissues with flexible functionalization chemistry. While silica growth on ND cores has been used successfully for quantum sensing and biolabeling, the surface mechanism to initiate growth was unknown. This report describes the surface chemistry responsible for silica bond formation on diamond and uses X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to probe the diamond surface chemistry and its electronic structure with increasing silica thickness. A modified Stöber (Cigler) method was used to synthesize 2-35 nm thick shells of SiO2 onto carboxylic acid-rich ND cores. The diamond morphology, surface, and electronic structure were characterized by overlapping techniques including electron microscopy. Importantly, we discovered that SiO2 growth on carboxylated NDs eliminates the presence of carboxylic acids and that basic ethanolic solutions convert the ND surface to an alcohol-rich surface prior to silica growth. The data supports a mechanism that alcohols on the ND surface generate silyl-ether (ND-O-Si-(OH)3) bonds due to rehydroxylation by ammonium hydroxide in ethanol. The suppression of the diamond electronic structure as a function of SiO2 thickness was observed for the first time, and a maximum probing depth of ∼14 nm was calculated. XAS spectra based on the Auger electron escape depth was modeled using the NIST database for the Simulation of Electron Spectra for Surface Analysis (SESSA) to support our experimental results. Additionally, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) maps produced by the transition edge sensor reinforces the chemical analysis provided by XAS. Researchers using diamond or high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) NDs and other exotic materials (e.g., silicon carbide or cubic-boron nitride) for quantum sensing applications may exploit these results to design new layered or core-shell quantum sensors by forming covalent bonds via surface alcohol groups.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.3c00033
View details for PubMedID 38144705
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10740120
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Quantum Diamonds at the Beach: Chemical Insights into Silica Growth on Nanoscale Diamond using Multimodal Characterization and Simulation
ACS NANOSCIENCE AU
2023
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.3c00033
View details for Web of Science ID 001068451100001
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MXene Nanosheets Functionalized with Cu Atoms for Urea Adsorption in Aqueous Media
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
2023
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsanm.3c02723
View details for Web of Science ID 001065049100001
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Pyridinic nitrogen induced compressed bilayer graphene for oxygen reduction reaction
MATERIALS TODAY ENERGY
2023; 35
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.mtener.2023.101323
View details for Web of Science ID 001009278100001
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Correction to "Quantifying the Steric Effect on Metal-Ligand Bonding in Fe Carbene Photosensitizers with Fe 2p3d Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering".
Inorganic chemistry
2023
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c01703
View details for PubMedID 37314371
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Regulating Cation Interactions for Zero-Strain and High-Voltage P2-type Na2/3Li1/6Co1/6Mn2/3O2 Layered Oxide Cathodes of Sodium-Ion Batteries.
Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
2023: e202304628
Abstract
Deep sodium extraction/insertion of sodium cathodes usually causes undesired Jahn-Teller distortion and phase transition, both of which will reduce structural stability and lead to poor long-cycle reliability. Here we report a zero-strain P2- Na2/3Li1/6Co1/6Mn2/3O2 cathode, in which the lithium/cobalt substitution contributes to reinforcing the host structure by reducing the Mn3+/Mn4+ redox, mitigating the Jahn-Teller distortion, and minimizing the lattice change. 94.5% of Na+ in the unit structure can be reversibly cycled with a charge cut-off voltage of 4.5 V (vs. Na+/Na). Impressively, a solid-solution reaction without phase transitions is realized upon deep sodium (de)intercalation, which poses a minimal volume deviation of 0.53%. It attains a high discharge capacity of 178 mAh g-1, a high energy density of 534 Wh kg-1, and excellent capacity retention of 95.8% at 1C after 250 cycles.
View details for DOI 10.1002/anie.202304628
View details for PubMedID 37139583
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Combinatorial Synthesis of Cation-Disordered Manganese Tin Nitride MnSnN2 Thin Films with Magnetic and Semiconducting Properties
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
2023
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c03826
View details for Web of Science ID 000960432300001
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P2-Type Moisture-Stable and High-Voltage-Tolerable Cathodes for High-Energy and Long-Life Sodium-Ion Batteries.
Nano letters
2023
Abstract
P2-Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 represents a promising cathode for Na-ion batteries, but it suffers from severe structural degradation upon storing in a humid atmosphere and cycling at a high cutoff voltage. Here we propose an in situ construction to achieve simultaneous material synthesis and Mg/Sn cosubstitution of Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 via one-pot solid-state sintering. The materials exhibit superior structural reversibility and moisture insensitivity. In-operando XRD reveals an essential correlation between cycling stability and phase reversibility, whereas Mg substitution suppressed the P2-O2 phase transition by forming a new Z phase, and Mg/Sn cosubstitution enhanced the P2-Z transition reversibility benefiting from strong Sn-O bonds. DFT calculations disclosed high chemical tolerance to moisture, as the adsorption energy to H2O was lower than that of the pure Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67O2. A representative Na0.67Ni0.23Mg0.1Mn0.65Sn0.02O2 cathode exhibits high reversible capacities of 123 mAh g-1 (10 mA g-1), 110 mAh g-1 (200 mA g-1), and 100 mAh g-1 (500 mA g-1) and a high capacity retention of 80% (500 mA g-1, 500 cycles).
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c04465
View details for PubMedID 36811529
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Toward High-Performance Mg-S Batteries via a Copper Phosphide Modified Separator.
ACS nano
2022
Abstract
Magnesium-sulfur (Mg-S) batteries are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, due to their high energy density and low cost. Unfortunately, current Mg-S batteries typically suffer from the shuttle effect that originates from the dissolution of magnesium polysulfide intermediates, leading to several issues such as rapid capacity fading, large overcharge, severe self-discharge, and potential safety concern. To address these issues, here we harness a copper phosphide (Cu3P) modified separator to realize the adsorption of magnesium polysulfides and catalyzation of the conversion reaction of S and Mg2+ toward stable cycling of Mg-S cells. The bifunctional layer with Cu3P confined in a carbon matrix is coated on a commercial polypropylene membrane to form a porous membrane with high electrolyte wettability and good thermal stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations, polysulfide permeability tests, and post-mortem analysis reveal that the catalytic layer can adsorb polysulfides, effectively restraining the shuttle effect and facilitating the reversibility of the Mg-S cells. As a result, the Mg-S cells can achieve a high specific capacity, fast rates (449 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C and 249 mAh g-1 at 1.0 C), and a long cycle life (up to 500 cycles at 0.5 C) and operate even at elevated temperatures.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnano.2c09302
View details for PubMedID 36583574
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Tuning discharge voltage by Schottky electron barrier in P2-Na2/ 3Mg0.205Ni0.1Fe0.05Mn0.645O2
ENERGY STORAGE MATERIALS
2023; 55: 587-596
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ensm.2022.12.027
View details for Web of Science ID 000909731200001
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Compositionally complex doping for zero-strain zero-cobalt layered cathodes.
Nature
2022
Abstract
The high volatility of the price ofcobalt and thegeopolitical limitations of cobalt mining have made the elimination of Co a pressing need for the automotive industry1. Owing to their high energy density and low-cost advantages, high-Ni and low-Co or Co-free(zero-Co) layered cathodes havebecome the most promising cathodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries2,3. However, current high-Ni cathode materials, without exception, sufferseverely from their intrinsic thermal and chemo-mechanical instabilities and insufficient cycle life. Here, by using a new compositionally complex (high-entropy) doping strategy, we successfully fabricate a high-Ni, zero-Co layered cathode that has extremely high thermal and cycling stability. Combining X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nanotomography, we find that the cathode exhibits nearly zero volumetric change over a wide electrochemical window, resulting in greatly reduced lattice defects and local strain-induced cracks. In-situ heating experiments reveal that the thermal stability of the new cathode is significantly improved, reaching the level of the ultra-stable NMC-532. Owing to the considerably increased thermal stability and the zero volumetric change, it exhibits greatly improved capacity retention. This work, by resolving the long-standing safety and stability concerns for high-Ni, zero-Co cathode materials, offers a commercially viable cathode for safe, long-life lithium-ion batteriesand a universal strategy forsuppressing strain and phase transformation in intercalation electrodes.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-022-05115-z
View details for PubMedID 36131017
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A broken translational symmetry state in an infinite-layer nickelate
NATURE PHYSICS
2022
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41567-022-01660-6
View details for Web of Science ID 000829739500004
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Synthesis and electronic properties of epitaxial SrNiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices
PHYSICAL REVIEW MATERIALS
2022; 6 (7)
View details for DOI 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.075006
View details for Web of Science ID 000829933000004
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Orientation-Controlled Anisotropy in Single Crystals of Quasi-1D BaTiS3
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
2022
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c01046
View details for Web of Science ID 000818997300001
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Superconducting detectors for rare event searches in experimental astroparticle physics
SUPERCONDUCTOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
2022; 35 (6)
View details for DOI 10.1088/1361-6668/ac6a1c
View details for Web of Science ID 000792467000001
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Revisiting the capacity-fading mechanism of P2-type sodium layered oxide cathode materials during high-voltage cycling
JOURNAL OF ENERGY CHEMISTRY
2022; 69: 16-25
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jechem.2022.01.010
View details for Web of Science ID 000780443700003
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Structural, Dynamic, and Chemical Complexities in Zinc Anode of an Operating Aqueous Zn-Ion Battery
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
2022
View details for DOI 10.1002/aenm.202200255
View details for Web of Science ID 000785685800001
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Generic character of charge and spin density waves in superconducting cuprates.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
2022; 119 (15): e2119429119
Abstract
SignificanceThe essential physics of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors have been a central focus of condensed-matter physics for more than three decades. Although initially controversial, it is now clear that a ubiquitous tendency toward charge-density-wave (CDW) order is intertwined with the superconductivity. However, this manifests differently in distinct cuprates. On the basis of extensive X-ray and neutron scattering studies of the temperature and doping dependence of the CDW and spin-density-wave (SDW) correlations in one representative cuprate and a comparison with existing studies on other cuprates, we show that there plausibly is a single, preferred CDW order at the microscale, whose manifestation at low temperatures is modified in predictable ways by material-specific details, including its interaction with SDW order.
View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2119429119
View details for PubMedID 35377791
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Characterization of photoinduced normal state through charge density wave in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.67.
Science advances
2022; 8 (6): eabk0832
Abstract
The normal state of high-Tc cuprates has been considered one of the essential topics in high-temperature superconductivity research. However, compared to the high magnetic field study of it, understanding a photoinduced normal state remains elusive. Here, we explore a photoinduced normal state of YBa2Cu3O6.67 through a charge density wave (CDW) with time-resolved resonant soft x-ray scattering, as well as a high magnetic field x-ray scattering. In the nonequilibrium state where people predict a quenched superconducting state based on the previous optical spectroscopies, we experimentally observed a similar analogy to the competition between superconductivity and CDW shown in the equilibrium state. We further observe that the broken pairing states in the superconducting CuO2 plane via the optical pump lead to nucleation of three-dimensional CDW precursor correlation. Ultimately, these findings provide a critical clue that the characteristics of the photoinduced normal state show a solid resemblance to those under magnetic fields in equilibrium conditions.
View details for DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abk0832
View details for PubMedID 35138893
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Thermal-healing of lattice defects for high-energy single-crystalline battery cathodes.
Nature communications
2022; 13 (1): 704
Abstract
Single-crystalline nickel-rich cathodes are a rising candidate with great potential for high-energy lithium-ion batteries due to their superior structural and chemical robustness in comparison with polycrystalline counterparts. Within the single-crystalline cathode materials, the lattice strain and defects have significant impacts on the intercalation chemistry and, therefore, play a key role in determining the macroscopic electrochemical performance. Guided by our predictive theoretical model, we have systematically evaluated the effectiveness of regaining lost capacity by modulating the lattice deformation via an energy-efficient thermal treatment at different chemical states. We demonstrate that the lattice structure recoverability is highly dependent on both the cathode composition and the state of charge, providing clues to relieving the fatigued cathode crystal for sustainable lithium-ion batteries.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-28325-5
View details for PubMedID 35121768
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Metastable Brominated Nanodiamond Surface Enables Room Temperature and Catalysis-Free Amine Chemistry.
The journal of physical chemistry letters
1800: 1147-1158
Abstract
Bromination of high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) nanodiamond (ND) surfaces has not been explored and can open new avenues for increased chemical reactivity and diamond lattice covalent bond formation. The large bond dissociation energy of the diamond lattice-oxygen bond is a challenge that prevents new bonds from forming, and most researchers simply use oxygen-terminated NDs (alcohols and acids) as reactive species. In this work, we transformed a tertiary-alcohol-rich ND surface to an amine surface with 50% surface coverage and was limited by the initial rate of bromination. We observed that alkyl bromide moieties are highly labile on HPHT NDs and are metastable as previously found using density functional theory. The strong leaving group properties of the alkyl bromide intermediate were found to form diamond-nitrogen bonds at room temperature and without catalysts. This robust pathway to activate a chemically inert ND surface broadens the modalities for surface termination, and the unique surface properties of brominated and aminated NDs are impactful to researchers for chemically tuning diamond for quantum sensing or biolabeling applications.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c04090
View details for PubMedID 35084184
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Quantifying the Steric Effect on Metal-Ligand Bonding in Fe Carbene Photosensitizers with Fe 2p3d Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering.
Inorganic chemistry
1800
Abstract
Understanding the electronic structure and chemical bonding of transition metal complexes is important for improving the function of molecular photosensitizers and catalysts. We have utilized X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Fe L3 edge to investigate the electronic structure of two Fe N-heterocyclic carbene complexes with similar chemical structures but different steric effects and contrasting excited-state dynamics: [Fe(bmip)2]2+ and [Fe(btbip)2]2+, bmip = 2,6-bis(3-methyl-imidazole-1-ylidine)pyridine and btbip = 2,6-bis(3-tert-butyl-imidazole-1-ylidene)pyridine. In combination with charge transfer multiplet and ab initio calculations, we quantified how changes in Fe-carbene bond length due to steric effects modify the metal-ligand bonding, including sigma/pi donation and pi back-donation. We find that sigma donation is significantly stronger in [Fe(bmip)2]2+, whereas the pi back-donation is similar in both complexes. The resulting stronger ligand field and nephelauxetic effect in [Fe(bmip)2]2+ lead to approximately 1 eV destabilization of the quintet metal-centered 5T2g excited state compared to [Fe(btbip)2]2+, providing an explanation for the absence of a photoinduced 5T2g population and a longer metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited-state lifetime in [Fe(bmip)2]2+. This work demonstrates how combined modeling of XAS and RIXS spectra can be utilized to understand the electronic structure of transition metal complexes governed by correlated electrons and donation/back-donation interactions.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c03124
View details for PubMedID 35029978
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The role of structural defects in commercial lithium-ion batteries
CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE
2021; 2 (9)
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100554
View details for Web of Science ID 000704066000007
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Multiphase, Multiscale Chemomechanics at Extreme Low Temperatures: Battery Electrodes for Operation in a Wide Temperature Range
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
2021
View details for DOI 10.1002/aenm.202102122
View details for Web of Science ID 000686946000001
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Chemical Modulation of Local Transition Metal Environment Enables Reversible Oxygen Redox in Mn-Based Layered Cathodes
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
2021; 6 (8): 2882-2890
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.1c01071
View details for Web of Science ID 000686077800028
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Reversible Mn/Cr dual redox in cation-disordered Li-excess cathode materials for stable lithium ion batteries
ACTA MATERIALIA
2021; 212
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.actamat.2021.116935
View details for Web of Science ID 000663648100004
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Selective dopant segregation modulates mesoscale reaction kinetics in layered transition metal oxide
NANO ENERGY
2021; 84
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.105926
View details for Web of Science ID 000649703500001
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Depth-dependent valence stratification driven by oxygen redox in lithium-rich layered oxide.
Nature communications
2020; 11 (1): 6342
Abstract
Lithium-rich nickel-manganese-cobalt (LirNMC) layered material is a promising cathode for lithium-ion batteries thanks to its large energy density enabled by coexisting cation and anion redox activities. It however suffers from a voltage decay upon cycling, urging for an in-depth understanding of the particle-level structure and chemical complexity. In this work, we investigate the Li1.2Ni0.13Mn0.54Co0.13O2 particles morphologically, compositionally, and chemically in three-dimensions. While the composition is generally uniform throughout the particle, the charging induces a strong depth dependency in transition metal valence. Such a valence stratification phenomenon is attributed to the nature of oxygen redox which is very likely mostly associated with Mn. The depth-dependent chemistry could be modulated by the particles' core-multi-shell morphology, suggesting a structural-chemical interplay. These findings highlight the possibility of introducing a chemical gradient to address the oxygen-loss-induced voltage fade in LirNMC layered materials.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-20198-w
View details for PubMedID 33311507
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Operando Tailoring of Defects and Strains in Corrugated beta-Ni(OH)2 Nanosheets for Stable and High-Rate Energy Storage.
Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
2020: e2006147
Abstract
Nickel hydroxide represents a technologically important material for energy storage, such as hybrid supercapacitors. It has two different crystallographic polymorphs, alpha- and beta-Ni(OH)2 , showing advantages in either theoretical capacity or cycling/rate performance, manifesting a trade-off trend that needs to be optimized for practical applications. Here, the synergistic superiorities in both activity and stability of corrugated beta-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets are demonstrated through an electrochemical abuse approach. With 91% capacity retention after 10000 cycles, the corrugated beta-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets can deliver a gravimetric capacity of 457 C g-1 at a high current density of 30 A g-1 , which is nearly two and four times that of the regular alpha- and beta-Ni(OH)2 , respectively. Operando spectroscopy and finite element analysis reveal that greatly enhanced chemical activity and structural robustness can be attributed to the in situ tailored lattice defects and the strain-induced highly curved micromorphology. This work demonstrates a multi-scale defect-and-strain co-design strategy, which is helpful for rational design and tuned fabrication of next-generation electrode materials for stable and high-rate energy storage.
View details for DOI 10.1002/adma.202006147
View details for PubMedID 33270282
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Mutual modulation between surface chemistry and bulk microstructure within secondary particles of nickel-rich layered oxides.
Nature communications
2020; 11 (1): 4433
Abstract
Surface lattice reconstruction is commonly observed in nickel-rich layered oxide battery cathode materials, causing unsatisfactory high-voltage cycling performance. However, the interplay of the surface chemistry and the bulk microstructure remains largely unexplored due to the intrinsic structural complexity and the lack of integrated diagnostic tools for a thorough investigation at complementary length scales. Herein, by combining nano-resolution X-ray probes in both soft and hard X-ray regimes, we demonstrate correlative surface chemical mapping and bulk microstructure imaging over a single charged LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) secondary particle. We reveal that the sub-particle regions with more micro cracks are associated with more severe surface degradation. A mechanism of mutual modulation between the surface chemistry and the bulk microstructure is formulated based on our experimental observations and finite element modeling. Such a surface-to-bulk reaction coupling effect is fundamentally important for the design of the next generation battery cathode materials.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18278-y
View details for PubMedID 32895388
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Detection of the Chiral Spin Structure in Ferromagnetic SrRuO3 Thin Film
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
2020; 12 (33): 37757–63
Abstract
SrRuO3 (SRO) thin films and their heterostructure have attracted much attention because of the recently demonstrated fascinating properties, such as topological Hall effect and skyrmions. Critical to the understanding of those SRO properties is the study of the spin configuration. Here, we conduct resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSXS) at the oxygen K edge to investigate the spin configuration of a four-unit-cell SRO film that was grown epitaxially on a single-crystal SrTiO3. The RSXS signal under a magnetic field (∼0.4 tesla) clearly shows a magnetic dichroism pattern around the specular reflection. Model calculations on the RSXS signal demonstrate that the magnetic dichroism pattern originates from a Néel-type chiral spin structure in this SRO thin film. We believe that the observed spin structure of the SRO system is a critical piece of information for understanding its intriguing magnetic and transport properties.
View details for DOI 10.1021/acsami.0c10545
View details for Web of Science ID 000563074900095
View details for PubMedID 32696641
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Chemical control of competing electron transfer pathways in iron tetracyano-polypyridyl photosensitizers
CHEMICAL SCIENCE
2020; 11 (17): 4360–73
View details for DOI 10.1039/c9sc06272f
View details for Web of Science ID 000532365500005
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Enabling Stable Cycling of 4.2 V High-Voltage All-Solid-State Batteries with PEO-Based Solid Electrolyte
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
2020; 30 (22)
View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.201909392
View details for Web of Science ID 000537167400028
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Chemical control of competing electron transfer pathways in iron tetracyano-polypyridyl photosensitizers.
Chemical science
2020; 11 (17): 4360-4373
Abstract
Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer dynamics following metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excitation of [Fe(CN)4(2,2'-bipyridine)]2- (1), [Fe(CN)4(2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine)]2- (2) and [Fe(CN)4(2,2'-bipyrimidine)]2- (3) were investigated in various solvents with static and time-resolved UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy and Fe 2p3d resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). This series of polypyridyl ligands, combined with the strong solvatochromism of the complexes, enables the 1MLCT vertical energy to be varied from 1.64 eV to 2.64 eV and the 3MLCT lifetime to range from 180 fs to 67 ps. The 3MLCT lifetimes in 1 and 2 decrease exponentially as the MLCT energy increases, consistent with electron transfer to the lowest energy triplet metal-centred (3MC) excited state, as established by the Tanabe-Sugano analysis of the Fe 2p3d RIXS data. In contrast, the 3MLCT lifetime in 3 changes non-monotonically with MLCT energy, exhibiting a maximum. This qualitatively distinct behaviour results from a competing 3MLCT → ground state (GS) electron transfer pathway that exhibits energy gap law behaviour. The 3MLCT → GS pathway involves nuclear tunnelling for the high-frequency polypyridyl breathing mode (hν = 1530 cm-1), which is most displaced for complex 3, making this pathway significantly more efficient. Our study demonstrates that the excited state relaxation mechanism of Fe polypyridyl photosensitizers can be readily tuned by ligand and solvent environment. Furthermore, our study reveals that extending charge transfer lifetimes requires control of the relative energies of the 3MLCT and the 3MC states and suppression of the intramolecular distortion of the acceptor ligand in the 3MLCT excited state.
View details for DOI 10.1039/c9sc06272f
View details for PubMedID 34122894
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8159445
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Operando Revealing Dynamic Reconstruction of NiCo Carbonate Hydroxide for High-Rate Energy Storage
JOULE
2020; 4 (3): 673–87
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.joule.2020.01.018
View details for Web of Science ID 000520874200015
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The Myth of d8 Copper(III).
Journal of the American Chemical Society
2019
Abstract
Seventeen Cu complexes with formal oxidation states ranging from CuI to CuIII are investigated through the use of multiedge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Analysis reveals that the metal-ligand bonding in high-valent, formally CuIII species is extremely covalent, resulting in Cu K-edge and L2,3-edge spectra whose features have energies that complicate physical oxidation state assignment. Covalency analysis of the Cu L2,3-edge data reveals that all formally CuIII species have significantly diminished Cu d-character in their lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs). DFT calculations provide further validation of the orbital composition analysis, and excellent agreement is found between the calculated and experimental results. The finding that Cu has limited capacity to be oxidized necessitates localization of electron hole character on the supporting ligands; consequently, the physical d8 description for these formally CuIII species is inaccurate. This study provides an alternative explanation for the competence of formally CuIII species in transformations that are traditionally described as metal-centered, 2-electron CuI/CuIII redox processes.
View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.9b09016
View details for PubMedID 31710466
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Synthesis of a copper-supported triplet nitrene complex pertinent to copper-catalyzed amination.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
2019; 365 (6458): 1138–43
Abstract
Terminal copper-nitrenoid complexes have inspired interest in their fundamental bonding structures as well as their putative intermediacy in catalytic nitrene-transfer reactions. Here, we report that aryl azides react with a copper(I) dinitrogen complex bearing a sterically encumbered dipyrrin ligand to produce terminal copper nitrene complexes with near-linear, short copper-nitrenoid bonds [1.745(2) to 1.759(2) angstroms]. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculations reveal a predominantly triplet nitrene adduct bound to copper(I), as opposed to copper(II) or copper(III) assignments, indicating the absence of a copper-nitrogen multiple-bond character. Employing electron-deficient aryl azides renders the copper nitrene species competent for alkane amination and alkene aziridination, lending further credence to the intermediacy of this species in proposed nitrene-transfer mechanisms.
View details for DOI 10.1126/science.aax4423
View details for PubMedID 31515388
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Use of Transition Models to Design High Performance TESs for the LCLS-II Soft X-Ray Spectrometer
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
2019; 29 (5)
View details for DOI 10.1109/TASC.2019.2903032
View details for Web of Science ID 000466067800001
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In-situ functionalization of tetrahedral amorphous carbon by filtered cathodic arc deposition
AIP ADVANCES
2019; 9 (8)
View details for DOI 10.1063/1.5113484
View details for Web of Science ID 000483883400075
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Quantification of Heterogeneous Degradation in Li-Ion Batteries
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
2019; 9 (25)
View details for DOI 10.1002/aenm.201900674
View details for Web of Science ID 000477778400004
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Hybrid X-ray Spectroscopy-Based Approach To Acquire Chemical and Structural Information of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Superior Sensitivity
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
2019; 123 (10): 6114–20
View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b00714
View details for Web of Science ID 000461537400032
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Surface-to-Bulk Redox Coupling through Thermally Driven Li Redistribution in Li- and Mn-Rich Layered Cathode Materials.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
2019
Abstract
Li- and Mn-rich (LMR) layered cathode materials have demonstrated impressive capacity and specific energy density thanks to their intertwined redox centers including transition metal cations and oxygen anions. Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to the investigation of the electrochemically driven redox evolution in LMR cathode at ambient temperature, their behavior under a mildly elevated temperature (up to ∼100 °C), with or without electrochemical driving force, remains largely unexplored. Here we show a systematic study of the thermally driven surface-to-bulk redox coupling effect in charged Li1.2Ni0.15Co0.1Mn0.55O2. We for the first time observed a charge transfer between the bulk oxygen anions and the surface transition metal cations under ∼100 °C, which is attributed to the thermally driven redistribution of Li ions. This finding highlights the nonequilibrium state and dynamic nature of the LMR material at deeply delithiated state upon a mild temperature perturbation.
View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.9b05349
View details for PubMedID 31287957
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Use of Transition Models to Design High Performance TESs for the LCLS-II Soft X-Ray Spectrometer.
IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity : a publication of the IEEE Superconductivity Committee
2019; 29 (5)
Abstract
We are designing an array of transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters for a soft X-ray spectrometer at the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to coincide with upgrades to the free electron laser facility. The complete spectrometer will have 1000 TES pixels with energy resolution of 0.5 eV full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) for incident energies below 1 keV while maintaining pulse decay-time constants shorter than 100 μs. Historically, TES pixels have often been designed for a particular scientific application via a combination of simple scaling relations and trial-and-error experimentation with device geometry. We have improved upon this process by using our understanding of transition physics to guide TES design. Using the two-fluid approximation of the phase-slip line model for TES resistance, we determine how the geometry and critical temperature of a TES will affect the shape of the transition. We have used these techniques to design sensors with a critical temperature of 55 mK. The best sensors achieve an energy resolution of 0.75 eV FWHM at 1.25 keV. Building upon this result, we show how the next generation of sensors can be designed to reach our goal of 0.5 eV resolution.
View details for DOI 10.1109/tasc.2019.2903032
View details for PubMedID 33456289
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7808210
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Soft X-ray spectroscopy with transition-edge sensors at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource beamline 10-1.
The Review of scientific instruments
2019; 90 (11): 113101
Abstract
We present results obtained with a new soft X-ray spectrometer based on transition-edge sensors (TESs) composed of Mo/Cu bilayers coupled to bismuth absorbers. This spectrometer simultaneously provides excellent energy resolution, high detection efficiency, and broadband spectral coverage. The new spectrometer is optimized for incident X-ray energies below 2 keV. Each pixel serves as both a highly sensitive calorimeter and an X-ray absorber with near unity quantum efficiency. We have commissioned this 240-pixel TES spectrometer at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource beamline 10-1 (BL 10-1) and used it to probe the local electronic structure of sample materials with unprecedented sensitivity in the soft X-ray regime. As mounted, the TES spectrometer has a maximum detection solid angle of 2 × 10-3 sr. The energy resolution of all pixels combined is 1.5 eV full width at half maximum at 500 eV. We describe the performance of the TES spectrometer in terms of its energy resolution and count-rate capability and demonstrate its utility as a high throughput detector for synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy. Results from initial X-ray emission spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering experiments obtained with the spectrometer are presented.
View details for DOI 10.1063/1.5119155
View details for PubMedID 31779391
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Thermally driven mesoscale chemomechanical interplay in Li0.5Ni0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 cathode materials
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
2018; 6 (45): 23055–61
View details for DOI 10.1039/c8ta08973f
View details for Web of Science ID 000451738200071
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L-edge spectroscopy of dilute, radiation-sensitive systems using a transition-edge-sensor array
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
2017; 147 (21): 214201
Abstract
We present X-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements on the iron L-edge of 0.5 mM aqueous ferricyanide. These measurements demonstrate the ability of high-throughput transition-edge-sensor (TES) spectrometers to access the rich soft X-ray (100-2000 eV) spectroscopy regime for dilute and radiation-sensitive samples. Our low-concentration data are in agreement with high-concentration measurements recorded by grating spectrometers. These results show that soft-X-ray RIXS spectroscopy acquired by high-throughput TES spectrometers can be used to study the local electronic structure of dilute metal-centered complexes relevant to biology, chemistry, and catalysis. In particular, TES spectrometers have a unique ability to characterize frozen solutions of radiation- and temperature-sensitive samples.
View details for PubMedID 29221417
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5720893
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High count-rate study of two TES x-ray microcalorimeters with different transition temperatures
SUPERCONDUCTOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
2017; 30 (10)
View details for DOI 10.1088/1361-6668/aa83d2
View details for Web of Science ID 000409308700003
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Parametric Characterization of TES Detectors Under DC Bias
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
2017; 27 (4)
View details for DOI 10.1109/TASC.2016.2645164
View details for Web of Science ID 000395452200001
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Determination of differential orbital covalency of heme active sites by L-edge spectroscopy
AMER CHEMICAL SOC. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000430569103813
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Ultra sensitive probing of the local electronic structure based on state-of-the-art Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) technology and soft x-ray spectroscopy
AMER CHEMICAL SOC. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000430568502277
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Probing the local electronic structure of dilute bioinorganic active sites using ultra-sensitive soft X-ray detectors
AMER CHEMICAL SOC. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000430568501597
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Ultrasensitive probing of the local electronic structure of nitrogen doped carbon and its applications to 2D electronics, catalysis and bio-physics
AMER CHEMICAL SOC. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000430568506218
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XESCA: X-ray emission spectroscopy for chemical analysis
AMER CHEMICAL SOC. 2017
View details for Web of Science ID 000430569103328
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Development of x-ray microcalorimeter imaging spectrometers for the X-ray Surveyor mission concept
SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2016
View details for DOI 10.1117/12.2232156
View details for Web of Science ID 000387731500017