Understanding and predicting radiation damage evolution in complex materials is crucial for developing next-generation nuclear energy sources. Here, using a combination of ion beam irradiation, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, we show that, contrary to the behaviour observed in pyrochlores, the amorphization resistance of spinel compounds correlates directly with the ener...

Li-rich layer-structured cathode thin films are prepared by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical testing in half battery cells are used to characterize crystal structure, surface morphology, chemical valence states and electrochemical performance of these thin films, resp...

Reduction of polycrystalline and crystalline magnesium orthovanadate Mg V O by hydrogen was investigated in the temperature 3 2 8 range of 560–9208C. A single crystal of orthorhombic Mg V O with a cation-deficient-spinel structure (25% of the magnesium atoms on 3 2 8 octahedral sites are vacant) was transformed into cubic Mg V O which has a cation-stuffed-spinel structure (8a and 16c sites were...

The A2BO4 spinel oxides are distinguished by having either a normal (N) or an inverse (I) distribution of the A, B cations on their sublattices. A point-ion electrostatic model parametrized by the oxygen displacement parameter u and by the relative cation valencies Z{A} vs Z{B} provides a simple rule for the structural preference for N or I: if Z{A}>Z{B} the structure is normal for u>0.2592 and...

ZnAl2O4 spinel powders were prepared using the Pechini or co-precipitation synthetic route and were then treated at different temperatures (600–1350 °C). These powders were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance and luminescence measurements. SEM investigations and the X-ray patterns showed that the spinel crystallite size was dependent on th...

Batteries that shuttle multivalent ions such as Mg and Ca ions are promising candidates for achieving higher energy density than available with current Li-ion technology. Finding electrode materials that reversibly store and release these multivalent cations is considered a major challenge for enabling such multivalent battery technology. In this paper, we use recent advances in high-throughput...

High pressure/temperature annealing experiments are used to determine diffusivities of H and D in non-stoichiometric spinel, a low-pressure analogue for nominally anhydrous minerals in Earth’s mantle. Data are fitted to the following Arrhenius law: Diffusivity (m/s) = 4 ± 1 × 10 exp(−54 ± 2 kJ mol/RT). At low temperatures, H and D diffusion in non-stoichiometric spinel is charge balanced by flu...

In order to improve the cycling performance of LiMn2O4, the spinel phase LiMn2–xBaxO4 (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05) compounds were fabricated by the glycine-nitrate method. The structures of the products were investigated by X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical studies were carried out using the Li|LiMn2O4 and Li|LiMn2–xBaxO4 cells. The capacity loss of Li|LiMn2O4 cell is about 15% after 30 cycles, w...

On the basis of the similarity between spinel and rocksalt structures, it is shown that some spinel oxides (e.g., MgCo2O4, etc) can be cathode materials for Mg rechargeable batteries around 150 °C. The Mg insertion into spinel lattices occurs via "intercalation and push-out" process to form a rocksalt phase in the spinel mother phase. For example, by utilizing the valence change from Co(III) to...