Abstract
We report the formation of an intermediate lamellar Cu-thiolate complex, and tuning its relative stability using alkylphosphonic acids are crucial to enabling controlled heteronucleation to form Bi(Cu2-xS)n heterostructures with a tunable number of Cu2-xS stems on a Bi core. The denticity of the phosphonic acid group, concentration, and chain length of alkylphosphonic acids are critical factors determining the stability of the Cu-thiolate complex. Increasing the stability of the Cu-thiolate results in single Cu2-xS stem formation, and decreased stability of the Cu-thiolate complex increases the degree of heteronucleation to form multiple Cu2-xS stems on the Bi core. Spatially separated multiple Cu2-xS stems transform into a support network to hold a fragmented Bi core when used as an anode in a K-ion battery, leading to a more stable cycling performance showing a specific capacity of ∼170 mAh·g-1 after 200 cycles compared to ∼111 mAh·g-1 for Bi-Cu2-xS single-stem heterostructures.
Original language | English (Ireland) |
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Pages (from-to) | 10120-10127 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Nano Letters |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 24 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 28 Dec 2022 |
Keywords
- Catalyst-assisted
- Heterostructures
- Intermediates
- Ligands
- Metal/semiconductor
- Potassium ion battery
- Seeded-growth