Strong Magnetic Exchange Interactions and Delocalized Mn-O States Enable High-Voltage Capacity in the Na-Ion Cathode P2-Na[MgMn]O.

The increased capacity offered by oxygen-redox active cathode materials for rechargeable lithium- and sodium-ion batteries (LIBs and NIBs, respectively) offers a pathway to the next generation of high-gravimetric-capacity cathodes for use in devices, transportation and on the grid. Many of these materials, however, are plagued with voltage fade, voltage hysteresis and O loss, the origins of which can be traced back to changes in their electronic and chemical structures on cycling. Developing a detailed understanding of these changes is critical to mitigating these cathodes' poor performance. In this work, we present an analysis of the redox mechanism of P2-Na[MgMn]O, a layered NIB cathode whose high capacity has previously been attributed to trapped O molecules. We examine a variety of charge compensation scenarios, calculate their corresponding densities of states and spectroscopic properties, and systematically compare the results to experimental data: Mg and O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-band and high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), magnetometry, and O and Mn -edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES). a process of elimination, we suggest that the mechanism for O redox in this material is dominated by a process that involves the formation of strongly antiferromagnetic, delocalized Mn-O states which form after Mg migration at high voltages. Our results primarily rely on noninvasive techniques that are vital to understanding the electronic structure of metastable cycled cathode samples.