Mercouri Kanatzidis, professor at Northwestern University with a joint visit in the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, was searching for a brand-new superconductor with non-traditional behavior when he made an unanticipated discovery. It was a product that is just four atoms thick and enables studying the motion of charged particles in only two dimensions. Such studies could spur the development of brand-new products for a range of energy conversion devices.
” Our analysis results exposed that, prior to this shift, the silver ions were fixed in the confined area within the two measurements of our material, however after this shift, they wiggled around.”– Mercouri Kanatzidis, joint consultation with Argonne and Northwestern University
Kanatzidiss target product was a combination of silver, potassium and selenium (a-KAg3Se2) in a four-layered structure like a wedding cake. These 2D products have length and width, but almost no density at just four atoms high.
Superconducting products lose all resistance to the motion of electrons when cooled to very low temperature levels. “Much to my disappointment, this material was not a superconductor at all, and we might not make it one,” said Kanatzidis, who is a senior scientist in Argonnes Materials Science Division (MSD). “But much to my surprise, it turned out to be a wonderful example of a superionic conductor.”
In superionic conductors, the charged ions in a strong product roam about simply as easily as in the liquid electrolytes discovered in batteries. Both of these homes make superionic conductors super materials for energy storage and conversion gadgets.
Four-layer atomic structure of α-KAg3Se2, a 2D superionic conductor. The colors of the atoms are collaborated with the colors in the name. Credit: Image by Mercouri Kanatzidis/Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory
When they warmed it up to between 450 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the teams first idea that they had found a product with unique properties was. It transitioned into a more in proportion layered structure. The team also found this transition to be reversible when they lowered the temperature level, then raised it once again into the heat zone.
” Our analysis results revealed that, before this shift, the silver ions were repaired in the restricted area within the two measurements of our product,” said Kanatzidis. “But after this shift, they wiggled around.” While much is understood about how ions move about in 3 measurements, extremely little is understood about how they do so in only two measurements.
Researchers have been looking for some time to find an exemplary material to investigate ion motion in 2D materials. This layered potassium-silver-selenium material seems one. The team measured how the ions diffused in this solid and discovered it to be comparable to that of a greatly salted water electrolyte, one of the fastest recognized ionic conductors.
While it is prematurely to inform if this specific superionic material may find useful application, it could right away function as an important platform for creating other 2D products with high ionic conductivity and low thermal conductivity.
” These properties are very crucial for those designing new two-dimensional solid electrolytes for batteries and fuel cells,” stated Duck Young Chung, primary materials researcher in MSD.
Research studies with this superionic material could also be instrumental for designing brand-new thermoelectrics that transform heat to electricity in power plants, commercial processes and even tire gas from car emissions. And such studies could be used for designing membranes for ecological clean-up and desalting of water.
This research appeared in a Nature Materials paper entitled “A two-dimensional type I superionic conductor.” In addition to Kanatzidis and Chung, authors consist of Alexander J. E. Rettie, Jingxuan Ding, Xiuquan Zhou, Michael J. Johnson, Christos D. Malliakas, Naresh C. Osti, Raymond Osborn, Olivier Delaire and Stephan Rosenkranz. The team includes researchers from Argonne, Northwestern, DOEs Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University College London and Duke University.
Recommendation: “A two-dimensional type I superionic conductor” by Alexander J. E. Rettie, Jingxuan Ding, Xiuquan Zhou, Michael J. Johnson, Christos D. Malliakas, Naresh C. Osti, Duck Young Chung, Raymond Osborn, Olivier Delaire, Stephan Rosenkranz and Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, 22 July 2021, Nature Materials.DOI: 10.1038/ s41563-021-01053-9.
The teams speculative measurements utilized the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Integrated Molecular Structure Education and Research Center at Northwestern and beamline 17-BM-B at Argonnes Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. Their computer simulations used the computing resources offered on Bebop, a high performance computing cluster at Argonne.
This research study was mostly supported by the DOE Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
“Much to my disappointment, this product was not a superconductor at all, and we might not make it one,” said Kanatzidis, who is a senior scientist in Argonnes Materials Science Division (MSD). In superionic conductors, the charged ions in a solid material wander about simply as easily as in the liquid electrolytes discovered in batteries. Both of these residential or commercial properties make superionic conductors incredibly materials for energy storage and conversion devices.
” Our analysis results exposed that, prior to this transition, the silver ions were fixed in the confined area within the 2 dimensions of our material,” said Kanatzidis. Researchers have actually been browsing for some time to find an excellent product to examine ion motion in 2D products.
Unplanned discovery might lead to future critical discoveries in batteries, fuel cells, gadgets for transforming heat to electricity and more.
Researchers usually perform their research by thoroughly picking a research issue, devising a proper plan to fix it and performing that plan. However unexpected discoveries can occur along the way.