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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Characterization of Electrode Materials for Lithium Ion and Sodium Ion Batteries Using Synchrotron Radiation Techniques
Published on: November 12, 2013
Crystal chemistry and electronic structure of the metallic lithium ion conductor, LiNiN
Zlatka Stoeva1, Bernd Jäger, Ruben Gomez
1School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.
Abstract:
The layered ternary nitride LiNiN shows an interesting combination of fast Li+ ion diffusion and metallic behavior, properties which suggest potential applications as an electrode material in lithium ion batteries. A detailed investigation of the structure and properties of LiNiN using powder neutron diffraction, ab initio calculations, SQUID magnetometry, and solid-state NMR is described. Variable-temperature neutron diffraction demonstrates that LiNiN forms a variant of the parent Li3N structure in which Li+ ion vacancies are ordered within the [LiN] planes and with Ni exclusively occupying interlayer positions (at 280 K: hexagonal space group Pm2, a = 3.74304(5) A, c = 3.52542(6) A, Z = 1). Calculations suggest that LiNiN is a one-dimensional metal, as a result of the mixed pi- and sigma-bonding interactions between Ni and N along the c-axis. Solid-state 7Li NMR spectra are consistent with both fast Li+ motion and metallic behavior.
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