2D Non-van der Waals Bimetallic Transition Metal Chalcogenides for Magnesium-Ion Energy Storage

Magnesium-ion batteries (MIBs) present compelling performance and sustainability attributes, while sharing common manufacturing techniques with lithium-ion batteries, thus enabling rapid commercialization.

However, challenges remain to be addressed, such as low capacity and poor cycling stability of the cathode materials stemming from sluggish Mg2+ diffusion kinetics, dendrite growth and irreversible Mg plating/stripping of the Mg metal anode, especially when operating in non-corrosive electrolytes.

In response to these challenges, BiM-ION project leverages the expanding toolbox of 2D non-van der Waals (nvdW) bimetallic transition metal chalcogenides (BTMCs) and hybrids thereof with functionalized conductive graphene derivatives as potential cathode materials for MIBs.

The 2D engineered nvdW BTMCs will be utilized to boost the Mg-ion diffusion and by leveraging metal-metal cooperativity in these structures BiM-ION aims to ascribe stable redox cycles and boost the stored energy.

Importantly, tailored graphene derivatives with dense out-of-plane functionalities can facilitate the formation of covalent hybrids with 2D nvdW BTMCs, ascribing improved charge transport and stability of the resulting heterostructured electrodes, ultimately enabling long-term cyclability of MIBs.

The Mg metal anode will be engineered by applying heteroatom doped graphene structures adorned with single metal atoms at the surface to improve the Mg-nucleation, and magnesiophilicity, to impede the irreversible Mg plating/stripping in non-corrosive electrolytes.

The BiM-ION project aims to revolutionizing energy storage based on safer, abundant, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solutions, thereby reducing our reliance on lithium-based technologies and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources.