Peculiarities of Phase Formation in Mn-Based Na SuperIonic Conductor (NaSICon) Systems: The Case of Na_1+2<i>x</i>Mn_<i>x</i>Ti_2–<i>x</i>(PO₄)₃ (0.0 ≤ <i>x</i> ≤ 1.5)

Abstract

NAtrium SuperIonic CONductor (NASICON) structured phosphate framework compounds are attracting a great deal of interest as suitable electrode materials for "rocking chair" type batteries. Manganese-based electrode materials are among the most favored due to their superior stability, resource non-criticality, and high electrode potentials. Although a large share of research was devoted to Mn-based oxides for Li- and Na-ion batteries, the understanding of thermodynamics and phase formation in Mn-rich polyanions is still generally lacking. In this study, we investigate a bifunctional Na-ion battery electrode system based on NASICON-structured Na_1+2<i>x</i> Mn _<i>x</i> Ti_2-<i>x</i> (PO₄)₃ (0.0 ≤ <i>x</i> ≤ 1.5). In order to analyze the thermodynamic and phase formation properties, we construct a composition-temperature phase diagram using a computational sampling by density functional theory, cluster expansion, and semi-grand canonical Monte Carlo methods. The results indicate finite thermodynamic limits of possible Mn concentrations in this system, which are primarily determined by the phase separation into stoichiometric Na₃MnTi(PO₄)₃ (<i>x</i> = 1.0) and NaTi₂(PO₄)₃ for <i>x</i> < 1.0 or NaMnPO₄ for <i>x</i> > 1.0. The theoretical predictions are corroborated by experiments obtained using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy on solid-state and sol-gel prepared samples. The results confirm that this system does not show a solid solution type behavior but phase-separates into thermodynamically more stable sodium ordered monoclinic α-Na₃MnTi(PO₄)₃ (space group <i>C</i>2) and other phases. In addition to sodium ordering, the anti-bonding character of the Mn-O bond as compared to Ti-O is suggested as another important factor governing the stability of Mn-based NASICONs. We believe that these results will not only clarify some important questions regarding the thermodynamic properties of NASICON frameworks but will also be helpful for a more general understanding of polyanionic systems.