Meeting with students is always fascinating and fun but also demanding. Over the years, I have lectured in a number of courses ranging from general chemistry, inorganic chemistry, solid state chemistry, coordination chemistry, and chemical bonding to water chemistry. One field which I feel extra affinity for is on the environmental aspects of inorganic chemistry and more specifically environmental aquatic chemistry. Unfortunately, the latter course has not been offered for some years, but I really hope that we will be able to take it up again sometime in the future.

I and MMK are a partner in the LC-BAT-5-2019 H2020 project

COBRA: CObalt Free Batteries for FutuRe Automotive Applications (www.projectcobra.eu)

 

COBRA aims to develop a novel Co-free Li-ion battery technology that overcomes many of the current shortcomings faced by Electrical Vehicle (EV) batteries via the enhancement of each component in the battery system in a holistic manner.

The project will result in a unique battery system that merges several sought-after features, including superior energy density, low cost, increased cycles and reduced critical materials.

To achieve these ambitious targets we will:

• upgrade the electrochemical performance by focusing on Co-free cathode, advanced Si anode and electrolyte/separator
• cell manufacturing and testing for electrical and electrochemical performance
• leverage the use of smart sensors and advanced communication to optimise the system control
• battery-pack manufacturing that deliver cost-effective and environmentally sustainable battery over its lifetime.

The proposed Li-ion battery technology will be demonstrated at TRL6 (battery pack) and validated it on an automotive EV testbed.

The involvement of several leading organisation for battery manufacturing ensure easy adaptation to production lines and scale up to contribute to a higher market adoption while helping to strengthen Europe’s position in the field.

Overall, the project includes the participation of 3 universities, 7 RTOs, 4 SMEs and 5 enterprises covering the entire value chain and strongly engaging EU battery industry.

Collaboration - some of those with in COBRA

Dr. Jordi Jacas Biendicho, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, - IREC, Barcelona, Spain; jjacas@irec.cat

Prof. Kristina Edström, Uppsala University; Kristina.Edstrom@kemi.uu.se

Dr. Guiomar Hernandez, Uppsala University, Kristina.Edstrom@kemi.uu.se

 

Prussian Blue analogues for energy related applications. 

Prussian Blue can be seen as the first and smallest MOF:s (molecular organic framework). It has a very simple open ReO3-related structure with large cavities and often numerous vacancies. The general composition for Prussian Blue and it analogues (PBA) is AxM´[M(CN)6]y·H2O where M´and M are transition metals and Ax large cations e.g. alkaline metals. The presence of transition metals result as always in compounds with a large variety of interesting properties such as e.g. electrochemical, magnetic, adsorbent.

We are interested in Prussian Blue analogues and specially their CO2-adsorbing properties, although we have also made electrochemical in operando studies using X-ray diffraction.

AxCu[Fe(CN)6]2/3·H2O is one compound we have studied in detail using a number of techniques; XRD, NPD, Mössbauer, EXAFS, XANES, IR/Raman, SEM-EDS, TGA/DSC, CO2/N2-adsorption, electrochemistry.

The compound is a rather good, fast, robust and selective CO2adsorbent and we have made extensive kinetic studies using TGA. It is our plan to continue the study of CO2adsorption in various PBA:s including in situ XRD and NPD measurements combined with kinetic studies using TGA.

Other collaborations

Dr. Vidya Batra, TERI-institute, New Dehli, India

Alumni

Supervised PhD:s 

Dickson Ojwang 2017
Samrand Shafeie 2013
Sigita Urbonaite 2008
Fredrik Lindberg 2006
Hillevi Hannerz 2003
Göran Poshman (Nilsson) 2000

Post Docs

Dariuz Wardecki 2014-2016
Jordi Jacas 2011-2014
Louise Samain 2012-2013
Nadja Tarakina 2004
Alexander Tyutyunnik 1993

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Macroscopic rods from assembled colloidal particles of hydrothermally carbonized glucose and their use as templates for silicon carbide and tricopper silicide

  2021. Xia Wang (et al.). Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 602, 480-489

  Article

  Self-aggregated colloids can be used for the preparation of materials, and we studied long rod-like aggregates formed on the evaporation of water from dispersed particles of colloidal hydrochar. The monodispersed hydrochar particles (100–200 nm) were synthesized by the hydrothermal carbonization ofglucose and purified through dialysis. During the synthesis they formed colloidal dispersions which wereelectrostatically stable at intermediate to high pH and at low ion strengths. On the evaporation of water,macroscopically large rods formed from the dispersions at intermediate pH conditions. The rods formedat the solid-water interface orthogonally oriented with respect to the drying direction. Pyrolysis renderedthe rods highly porous without qualitatively affecting their shape. A Cu-Si alloy was reactively infiltratedinto the in-situ pyrolyzed hydrochars and composites of tricopper silicide (Cu3Si)-silicon carbide(SiC)/carbon formed. During this process, the Si atoms reacted with the C atoms, which in turned causedthe alloy to wet and further react with the carbon. The shape of the underlying carbon template wasmaintained during the reactions, and the formed composite preparation was subsequently calcined intoa Cu3Si-SiC-based replica of the rod-like assemblies of carbon-based colloidal particles. Transmission andscanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to study the shape, composition, andstructure of the formed solids. Further studies of materials prepared with reactive infiltration of alloysinto self-aggregated and carbon-based solids can be justified from a perspective of colloidal science, aswell as the explorative use of hydrochar prepared from real biomass, exploration of the compositionalspace in relation to the reactive infiltration, and applications of the materials in catalysis. 

  Read more about Macroscopic rods from assembled colloidal particles of hydrothermally carbonized glucose and their use as templates for silicon carbide and tricopper silicide

• Manganese Hexacyanomanganate as a Positive Electrode for Nonaqueous Li-, Na-, and K-Ion Batteries

  2019. Viktor Renman (et al.). The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 123 (36), 22040-22049

  Article

  K2Mn[Mn(CN)(6)] is synthesized, characterized, and evaluated as possible positive electrode material in nonaqueous Li-, Na-, and K-ion batteries. This compound belongs to the rich and versatile family of hexacyanometallates displaying distinctive structural properties, which makes it interesting for ion insertion purposes. It can be viewed as a perovskite-like compound in which CN-bridged Mn(CN)(6) octahedra form an open framework structure with sufficiently large diffusion channels able to accommodate a variety of insertion cations. By means of galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry tests in nonaqueous alkali metal half-cells, it is demonstrated that this material is able to reversibly host Li+, Na+, and K+ ions via electrochemical insertion/deinsertion within a wide voltage range. The general electrochemical features are similar for all of these three ion insertion chemistries. An in operando X-ray diffraction investigation indicates that the original monoclinic structure is transformed into a cubic one during charging (i.e., removal of cations from the host framework) and that such a process is reversible upon subsequent cell discharge and cation reuptake.

  Read more about Manganese Hexacyanomanganate as a Positive Electrode for Nonaqueous Li-, Na-, and K-Ion Batteries

• Silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO)-Templated Activated Carbons

  2019. Yunxiang Li (et al.).

  Article

  Microporous activated carbon was prepared by depositing and pyrolyzing propylene within the microporous voids of SAPO-37 and subsequently removing the template by a treatment with HCl and NaOH. The carbon had a high surface area and large micropore and ultramicropore volumes. The yield, crystallinity, morphology, and adsorption properties compared well with those of a structurally related zeolite-Y-templated carbon. No HF was needed to remove the SAPO-37 template in contrast to the zeolite Y template, which could be of industrial importance.

  Read more about Silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO)-Templated Activated Carbons

• A structural study of Ruddlesden-Popper phases Sr3-xYx(Fe1.25Ni0.75)O7-delta with x <= 0.75 by neutron powder diffraction and EXAFS/XANES spectroscopy

  2018. Jekabs Grins (et al.). Journal of Materials Chemistry A 6 (13), 5313-5323

  Article

  The structures of Ruddlesden-Popper n = 2 member phases Sr3-xYxFe1.25Ni0.75O7-delta with 0 <= x <= 0.75 have been investigated using neutron powder diffraction and K-edge Fe and Ni EXAFS/XANES spectroscopy in order to gain information about the evolution of the oxygen vacancy distribution and Fe/Ni oxidation state with x. Both samples prepared at 1300 degrees C under a flow of N-2(g), with delta = 1.41-1.00, and samples subsequently annealed in air at 900 degrees C, with delta = 0.44-0.59, were characterized. The as-prepared x = 0.75 phase has delta = 1, the O1 atom site is vacant, and the Fe3+/Ni2+ ions have a square pyramidal coordination. With decreasing x the O3 occupancy decreases nearly linearly to 81% for x = 0, while the O1 occupancy increases from 0 for x = 0.4 to 33% for x = 0. The air-annealed x = 0.75 sample has a delta value of 0.59 and the Fe3+/Fe4+/Ni2+/Ni3+ ions have both square pyramidal and octahedral coordination. With decreasing x, the delta value decreases to 0.45 for x = 0, implying an increase in the oxidation states of Fe/Ni ions. EXAFS/XANES data show that for the as-prepared samples the coordination changes are predominantly for Ni2+ ions and that the air-annealed samples contain both Fe3+/Fe4+ and Ni2+/Ni3+ ions.

  Read more about A structural study of Ruddlesden-Popper phases Sr3-xYx(Fe1.25Ni0.75)O7-delta with x <= 0.75 by neutron powder diffraction and EXAFS/XANES spectroscopy

• Crystal Structure and Coordination of B-Cations in the Ruddlesden-Popper Phases Sr3-xPrx(Fe1.25Ni0.75)O7- (0 x 0.4)

  2018. Gunnar Svensson (et al.).

  Article

  Compounds Sr3-xPrxFe1.25Ni0.75O7- with 0 x 0.4 and Ruddlesden-Popper n = 2 type structures were synthesized and investigated by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, thermogravimetry, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Both samples, prepared at 1300 degrees C under N-2(g) flow and samples subsequently air-annealed at 900 degrees C, were studied. The structures contained oxygen vacancies in the perovskite layers, and the Fe/Ni cations had an average coordination number less than six. The oxygen content was considerably higher for air-annealed samples than for samples prepared under N-2, 7 - = similar to 6.6 and similar to 5.6 per formula unit, respectively. Mossbauer data collected at 7 K, below magnetic ordering temperatures, were consistent with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) results. The electrical conductivity was considerably higher for the air-annealed samples and was for x = 0.1 similar to 30 Scm(-1) at 500 degrees C. The thermal expansion coefficients were measured in air between room temperature and 900 degrees C and was found to be 20-24 ppmK(-1) overall.

  Read more about Crystal Structure and Coordination of B-Cations in the Ruddlesden-Popper Phases Sr3-xPrx(Fe1.25Ni0.75)O7- (0 x 0.4)

Show all publications by Gunnar Svensson at Stockholm University