Germanium carbide (GeC) high theoretical capacity renders it as a promising anode material with for lithium (Li), sodium (Na), beryllium (Be) and magnesium (Mg)-ion batteries due to forming Li2(GeC), Na2(GeC), Be2(GeC) and Mg2(GeC) nanoclusters. A vast study on energy-saving by Li2(GeC), Na2(GeC), Be2(GeC) and Mg2(GeC) complexes was probed using computational approaches due to density state analysis of charge density differences (CDD), total density of states (TDOS), electron localization function (ELF) for hybrid clusters of Li2(GeC), Na2(GeC), Be2(GeC) and Mg2(GeC). A small portion of Li, Na, Be or Mg entered the Ge–C layer to replace the alkali and alkaline earth metals sites could improve the structural stability of the electrode material at high multiplicity, thereby improving the capacity retention rate. Higher Ge/C content can increase battery capacity through Li2(GeC), Na2(GeC), Be2(GeC) and Mg2(GeC) nanoclusters for energy storage process and improve the rate performances by enhancing electrical conductivity. Besides, GeC anode material may advance cycling consistency by excluding electrode decline and augments the capacity owing to higher surface capacitive impacts. Therefore, GeC anode could be applied in multivalent-ion batteries using Be2+ as the carrier ion because its properties can compete with or surpass monovalent ions. Here, we report that the maximum capacity, stability energy and ion diffusivities of the alloying electrode materials can be understood using atomic-scale structural properties, such as the host–host and host–ion coordination numbers, as valuable indicators.
Моллаамин et al. (Fri,) studied this question.