A Metal Coordination Polymer Framework Governed by Heat of Hydration for Non-invasive Differentiation of Alkali Metal Series

Abstract

We illustrate that the extent of hydration and consequently the heat of hydration of alkali metal ions can be utilized to control their insertion/deinsertion chemistry in a redox active metal coordination polymer framework (CPF) electrode. The formal redox potential of CPF electrode for cation intercalation is inversely correlated to hydrated ionic radii, with clear distinction between the intercalation of ions across alkali metal series. This leads to non-invasive identification and differentiation of cations in the alkali metal series by utilizing a single sensing platform.