Synthesis and characterization of zinc-thiocyanato and chromium(III)-quinoline complex as K-ion battery material

What is it about?

Scientists from Universitas Negeri Malang and Université de Rennes 1 have developed a new compound that may serve as a cathode in potassium-ion batteries, offering a potential alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The compound is a Prussian Blue-like (PBL) one synthesized from zinc chloride, quinoline, chromium(III) chloride, and potassium thiocyanate at a molar ratio of 1:2:1:6. The as-synthesized dark-greenish purple crystals have a melting point of 182–185 °C. Various characterization techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), confirmed the structure and composition of the compound. The compound demonstrated a reduction potential as high as 0.45 V, which confirmed its potential as a battery material. This development suggests that such PBL compounds could be potential contenders for potassium-ion batteries, which are considered to be more accessible and economical to lithium-ion batteries.

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