Doubled Capacity and Cyclability of Berlin Green Cathodes with Low-Spin Fe Activation and NH4+ Co-Insertion for Rocking-Chair Fe-Ion Batteries

Rechargeable Fe-ion batteries with overwhelming cost/environmental benign superiorities hold great promise in large-scale charge-storage applications. However, there is still a lack of competitive cathodes with prominent capacity and long-term cyclability. To overcome these constraints, a unique Fe 2+ /NH 4 + co-insertion strategy is proposed, enabling both doubled reversible capacity and cyclic life of Berlin green (FeHCF) cathodes. The Fe 2+ insertion proves to induce FeHCF lattice contractions, alter ligand environment/activation energies of low-spin Fe III, and hence boost the redox conversion depth, while NH 4 + co-insertions help to elevate the cathode capacities by utilizing Fe 2+ -unoccupied reaction sites. Besides, they generate hydrogen bonds between inserted NH 4 + ions and N atoms in FeHCF, capable of vastly strengthening the cathode's cyclic durability. Cathodes in such collaborative dual-cation electrolytes exhibit a remarkable capacity of 162 mAh g −1 (4 A g −1 ) and far prolonged operation lifespan (over 1000 cycles) when compared to single-cation cases. The assembled full cells demonstrate impressive energy densities up to 70.4 Wh kg −1 , and far superior capacity retention of 88% after all the cycling. This work may offer a simple/feasible, and effective route to render high-capacity and long-lasting cathodes for future/practical Fe-ion battery systems.