Dynamic Impedance Spectroscopy of Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Thin Films

ChemElectroChem. 2019 Oct 31;6(21):5387-5395. doi: 10.1002/celc.201900805. Epub 2019 Aug 20.

Abstract

Dynamic multi-frequency analysis (DMFA) is capable of acquiring high-quality frequency response of electrochemical systems under non-stationary conditions in a broad range of frequencies. In this work, we used DMFA to study the kinetics of (de-)intercalation of univalent cations (Na+ and K+) in thin films of nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) during cyclic voltammetry. For this system, the classic stationary electrochemical impedance spectroscopy fails due to the instability of the oxidized form of NiHCF. We are showing that such spectra can be fitted with a physical model described by a simple two-step intercalation mechanism: an adsorption step followed by an insertion step. The extracted kinetic parameters are depending on the state of charge as well on the nature of the inserted cation.

Keywords: NiHCF thin films; dynamic impedance spectroscopy; dynamic multi-frequency analysis (DMFA); intercalation mechanism; multi-sine excitation.