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Low dimensional nanostructures of fast ion conducting lithium nitride

Nuria Tapia-Ruiz, Alexandra G. Gordon, Catherine M. Jewell, Hannah K. Edwards, Charlie Dunnill Orcid Logo, James M. Blackman, Colin P. Snape, Paul D. Brown, Ian MacLaren, Matteo Baldoni, Elena Besley, Jeremy J. Titman, Duncan H. Gregory

Nature Communications, Volume: 11, Issue: 1

Swansea University Author: Charlie Dunnill Orcid Logo

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Abstract

As the only stable binary compound formed between an alkali metal and nitrogen, lithium nitride possesses remarkable properties and is a model material for energy applications involving the transport of lithium ions. Following a materials design principle drawn from broad structural analogies to hex...

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Published in: Nature Communications
ISSN: 2041-1723
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2020
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54892
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Abstract: As the only stable binary compound formed between an alkali metal and nitrogen, lithium nitride possesses remarkable properties and is a model material for energy applications involving the transport of lithium ions. Following a materials design principle drawn from broad structural analogies to hexagonal graphene and boron nitride, we demonstrate that such low dimensional structures can also be formed from an s-block element and nitrogen. Both one- and two-dimensional nanostructures of lithium nitride, Li3N, can be grown despite the absence of an equivalent van der Waals gap. Lithium-ion diffusion is enhanced compared to the bulk compound, yielding materials with exceptional ionic mobility. Li3N demonstrates the conceptual assembly of ionic inorganic nanostructures from monolayers without the requirement of a van der Waals gap. Computational studies reveal an electronic structure mediated by the number of Li-N layers, with a transition from a bulk narrow-bandgap semiconductor to a metal at the nanoscale.
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Issue: 1