Potassium nickel hexacyanoferrate as a high-voltage cathode material for nonaqueous magnesium-ion batteries

Abstract

The magnesium insertion capability of Prussian blue (PB) analogue, potassium nickel hexacyanoferrate K0.86Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 (KNF-086), is demonstrated as a cathode material for rechargeable magnesium-ion batteries using a conventional organic electrolyte. K1.51Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 is synthesized first, and potassium ions are electrochemically extracted to prepare the KNF-086 cathode. The electrochemical test cell is composed of KNF-086 as the working electrode, an activated carbon as the counter and reference electrode, and 0.5 M Mg(ClO4)2 in acetonitrile as the electrolyte. The cell shows a reversible magnesium insertion/extraction reaction with a discharge capacity of 48.3 mAh g−1 at a 0.2 C rate, and an average discharge voltage at 2.99 V (vs. Mg/Mg2+) that is the highest among the cathode materials ever reported for magnesium-ion batteries. Elemental analysis and Fourier electron-density map analysis from powder X-ray diffraction data confirm that the magnesium-inserted phase is Mg0.27K0.86Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.954(H2O)0.766 (MKNF-086), and the magnesium ions in MKNF-086 are positioned at the center of the large interstitial cavities of cubic PB. Compared to KNF-086, MKNF-086 exhibits a decreased unit cell parameter (0.8%) and volume (2.4%). These results demonstrate that a PB analogue, potassium nickel hexacyanoferrate, could be utilized as a potential cathode material for conventional organic electrolyte-based magnesium-ion batteries.