Carbodiimides as energy materials: which directions for a reasonable future?

A little less than a decade after their quantum-chemical prediction and eventual synthesis, solid-state transition-metal carbodiimides and closely related compounds have somewhat unexpectedly emerged as energy materials. In these carbodiimides, the O2- oxide dianion has been replaced by the complex NCN2- dianion, and the outstanding properties of such materials are likely related to their metastability and their higher amount of covalency compared to related oxides. When used as anode materials in rechargeable Li- and Na-ion batteries, one finds a conversion reaction, and further improving their performance will likely involve studying the redox behavior of NCN2-, the synthesis of novel ternary carbodiimides, in particular those with redox-active transition metals, and controlling their morphology. At present, such materials serve as catalysts in photochemical water oxidation, where they outperform their oxide cousins.