Amorphous Metal Polysulfides: Electrode Materials with Unique Insertion/Extraction Reactions

J Am Chem Soc. 2017 Jul 5;139(26):8796-8799. doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b03909. Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Abstract

A unique charge/discharge mechanism of amorphous TiS4 is reported. Amorphous transition metal polysulfide electrodes exhibit anomalous charge/discharge performance and should have a unique charge/discharge mechanism: neither the typical intercalation/deintercalation mechanism nor the conversion-type one, but a mixture of the two. Analyzing the mechanism of such electrodes has been a challenge because fewer tools are available to examine the "amorphous" structure. It is revealed that the electrode undergoes two distinct structural changes: (i) the deformation and formation of S-S disulfide bonds and (ii) changes in the coordination number of titanium. These structural changes proceed continuously and concertedly for Li insertion/extraction. The results of this study provide a novel and unique model of amorphous electrode materials with significantly larger capacities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't