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ICMAB Research

Amorphous coordination polymers for versatile Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, and Zn2+ cation storage
05 November 2025

A new paper has been published in Energy and Environmental Science:

Divalent metal-ion batteries hold immense promise for electrochemical energy storage applications, offering advantages in terms of volumetric capacity, cost-efficiency, sustainability, and safety. Despite advances, the lack of high-voltage and high-performance positive electrode materials remains a critical obstacle. Here, we disclose a family of amorphous coordination polymers capable of reversibly storing Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, and Zn2+ cations. For Ca2+ and Mg2+ systems, the highest reported working potentials of >3.2 V vs. Ca2+/Ca and 2.8 V vs. Mg2+/Mg are measured, along with fast, stable, and low-hysteresis storage without solvent or ion pair storage. These characteristics stem from the amorphous structure, delocalized anionic charge, and disordered, long bond-distance coordination, enabling weak binding and fast cation diffusion. Using sustainable elements and demonstrating universal divalent cation storage capacity by achieving the first-ever reversible storage of Sr2+ and Ba2+ ions, this work establishes key design principles for divalent cation storage materials and systems.

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Amorphous coordination polymers for versatile Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, and Zn2+ cation storage


Guo, Xiaolong; Markowski, Robert; Black, Ashley; Apostol, Petru; Rambabu, Darsi; Luzanin, Olivera; Pavcnik, Tjasa; Monti, Damien; Du, Mengyuan; Tie, Da; Lin, Xiaodong; Bakuru, Vasudeva Rao; Delogne, Raphael; Robeyns, Koen; Simonelli, Laura; Gohy, Jean-Francois; Bitenc, Jan; Wang, Jiande; Ponrouch, Alexandre; Vlad, Alexandru

Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, 18, 9114–9124
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE02567B