Prussian Blue is one of the most fascinating materials ever produced by humans. Prepared for the first time in Berlin in 1706, today it is a versatile material which can be used in many cutting-edge technologies, such as batteries, smart windows, sensor technologies, environmental remediation and several medical applications.
For more than 25 years, I have worked with Prussian Blue as an electrochromic film. Together with the team at Gesimat, I developed a process for the large-area electrodeposition of Prussian Blue. However, Prussian Blue may be too blue to be a good electrochromic material.
In 2021, I solved the 200-year-old question about the difference between soluble and insoluble Prussian Blue: Soluble Prussian Blue is simply Prussian Blue nanoparticles. To prevent agglomeration, they are stabilized with suitable anions. If these anions are hexacyanoferrate ions, a different stoichiometry appears to result compared to “insoluble” Prussian Blue. But this has nothing to do with whether there are defects in the Prussian Blue lattice or not. Both “normal” Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue nanoparticles can now be produced with defects in the crystal lattice or without defects. The history of this scientific riddle is described here: Bull. Hist. Chem. 48 (2023) 131.
The mechanochemical synthesis is a very interesting alternative way for the production of Prussian Blue and its analogues. A colorful description can be found here: Sustain. Chem. 4 (2023) 54.
If you need a specialist’s help solving questions or problems around the application of Prussian Blue or Prussian Blue analogues (PBA) do not hesitate to contact me.
