Interface chemistry for sodium metal anodes/batteries: a review

Journal of Power Sources, 2020

• Very low interface resistance of Na/ NZSP/Na symmetric cells. • Superior dendrite tolerance of Na/ NZSP/Na symmetric cells. • Metal-self diffusion as explanation of high dendrite tolerance. • High current density and areal capacity of NVP/NZSP/Na full cells.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2021

Sodium metal is the ultimate anode for next generation high-energy-density sodium metal batteries due to its superior theoretical specific capacity, low redox potential, and natural abundance. However, sodium metal suffers from extreme and uncontrollable dendrite growth and gas evolution problems. These incidents result in a low coulombic efficiency and safety issues such as dangerous short circuits. Herein, an effective protective layer is fabricated on the Na metal anode via an extremely facile pretreatment method with 1,3-dioxolane. The protective layer exhibits fast interfacial transport and a lower resistance. Direct optical visualization shows that dendrite growth and gas evolution are suppressed due to the introduction of the protective layer. As a result, an outstanding cycling stability for 2800 h (1400 cycles) at 1 mA cm À2 in a symmetric cell is obtained. Moreover, the full cell using the protected Na metal anode shows superior electrochemical performance in comparison to the untreated Na metal anode. Furthermore, large format protected Na metal anodes fabricated by spraying 1,3-dioxolane were demonstrated and successfully assembled in pouch cells, showing a stable specific capacity of around 95 mA h g À1. Thus, our work presents a facile, efficient and scalable protection strategy to stabilize Na metal anodes towards high-energy-density sodium batteries.

2023

Sodium-ion batteries exhibit significant promise as a viable alternative to current lithium-ion technologies owing to their sustainability, low cost per energy density, reliability, and safety. Despite recent advancements in cathode materials for this category of energy storage systems, the primary challenge in realizing practical applications of sodium-ion systems is the absence of an anode system with high energy density and durability. Although Na metal is the ultimate anode that can facilitate high-energy sodium-ion batteries, its use remains limited due to safety concerns and the high-capacity loss associated with the high reactivity of Na metal. In this study, titration gas chromatography is employed to accurately quantify the sodium inventory loss in ether-and carbonate-based electrolytes. Uniaxial pressure is developed as a powerful tool to control the deposition of sodium metal with dense morphology, thereby enabling high initial coulombic efficiencies. In ether-based electrolytes, the Na metal surface exhibits the presence of a uniform solid electrolyte interphase layer, primarily characterized by favorable inorganic chemical components with close-packed structures. The full cell, utilizing a controlled electroplated sodium metal in ether-based electrolyte, provides capacity retention of 91.84% after 500 cycles at 2C current rate and delivers 86 mA h g À1 discharge capacity at 45C current rate, suggesting the potential to enable Na metal in the next generation of sodium-ion technologies with specifications close to practical requirements. Broader context The escalating global demand for energy has underscored the critical role of energy storage systems. While lithium-ion batteries have dominated the field, the concentration of lithium resources in a few countries has led to supply-demand imbalances, particularly with the surge in electric vehicles and electronic devices. This has driven up the market price of lithium, prompting exploration of alternatives. Sodium-ion batteries emerge as a promising candidate, offering sustainability, low cost per energy density, and reliability. Here, we showcase a sodium metal battery that achieves superior power density, enabled by the uniform deposition of sodium metal through interfacial engineering. Using dense electroplated sodium metal, the resulting full cell exhibits remarkable performance: 91.84% capacity retention after 500 cycles at a 2C-rate and an 86 mA h g À1 discharge capacity at a 45C-rate. Uniaxial pressure is employed to control sodium metal deposition, ensuring high coulombic efficiencies. The analysis of the solid electrolyte interphase unveils its characteristics depend on the components of the electrolyte, which determines the microstructure of deposited sodium metal. These advances position sodium metal as a viable candidate for enabling the next generation of energy storage technologies, with specifications close to practical requirements.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

All-solid-state batteries have recently gained considerable attention due to their potential improvements in safety, energy density, and cycle-life compared to conventional liquid electrolyte batteries. Sodium all-solid-state batteries also offer the potential to eliminate costly materials containing lithium, nickel, and cobalt, making them ideal for emerging grid energy storage applications. However, significant work is required to understand the persisting limitations and long-term cyclability of Na all-solidstate-based batteries. In this work, we demonstrate the importance of careful solid electrolyte selection for use against an alloy anode in Na all-solid-state batteries. Three emerging solid electrolyte material classes were chosen for this study: the chloride Na 2.25 Y 0.25 Zr 0.75 Cl 6 , sulfide Na 3 PS 4 , and borohydride Na 2 (B 10 H 10) 0.5 (B 12 H 12) 0.5. Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) imaging, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were utilized to characterize the evolution of the anode−electrolyte interface upon electrochemical cycling. The obtained results revealed that the interface stability is determined by both the intrinsic electrochemical stability of the solid electrolyte and the passivating properties of the formed interfacial products. With appropriate material selection for stability at the respective anode and cathode interfaces, stable cycling performance can be achieved for Na all-solid-state batteries.

Advanced Energy Materials, 2017

The urgent need for optimizing the available energy through smart grids and efficient large‐scale energy storage systems is pushing the construction and deployment of Li‐ion batteries in the MW range which, in the long term, are expected to hit the GW dimension while demanding over 1000 ton of positive active material per system. This amount of Li‐based material is equivalent to almost 1% of current Li consumption and can strongly influence the evolution of the lithium supply and cost. Given this uncertainty, it becomes mandatory to develop an energy storage technology that depends on almost infinite and widespread resources: Na‐ion batteries are the best technology for large‐scale applications. With small working cells in the market that cannot compete in cost ($/W h) with commercial Li‐ion batteries, the consolidation of Na‐ion batteries mainly depends on increasing their energy density and stability, the negative electrodes being at the heart of these two requirements. Promising ...

Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology

In recent years, as fossil energy sources such as oil and coal continue to be consumed, the issue of resources and the environment has become one of the main challenges to the sustainable development of human society. People's electricity consumption has increased dramatically, and the demand for energy storage batteries has also increased. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are a very worthwhile development because of high Na reserves in the world, which can bring many advantages. The electrolyte can control the battery's inherent electrochemical window and performance, influence the nature of the electrode/electrolyte interface, and is one of the most important material choices for SIBs. The electrolyte simultaneously influences the electrochemical performance and safety of SIBs. This paper focuses on electrolyte materials in SIBs, explaining the fundamental needs and categorization of sodium ion electrolytes and highlighting the most recent advances in liquid and solid electroly...

Advanced Materials, 2021

Crimson Publishers, 2023

The powerful and rapid growth of Lithium-ion batteries in the field of secondary batteries has resulted in a shortage of lithium resources, which has led to an increase in the price of batteries. As a result of these factors, sodium-ion batteries, also known as NIBs, have developed into one of the most appropriate options for large-scale energy storage devices. These batteries have a low cost, limitless sodium reserves and a working principle that is similar to that of LIBs. Na-ion batteries, also known as NIBs, have gained a lot of attention as a potential excellent candidate for grid-scale energy storage systems due to the abundance and accessibility of Na as well as its electrochemistry that is very similar to that of the well-established LIBs technology. This review article provides a concise assessment of the most recent developments in the field of electrode materials for NIBs, including the discovery of new electrode materials and the Na storage mechanisms possessed by those materials.

Small, 2018

Li and Na fall under Group I alkali metal in the periodic table and are assumed to have similar chemical properties. However, the performance of most electrode materials in both systems disregards a linear behavior, and they usually show reduced performance in the Na cells. [6] Nevertheless, the knowledge of the successful development of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is beneficial for the development of NIBs as there is a large degree of similarity for the redox mechanisms in certain materials. The use of Na + as the charge carrier has several drawbacks compared with Li +. [7,8] These include: (1) Na has a larger molar mass (22.990 g mol −1) than Li (6.941 g mol −1). This makes the electrode materials containing Na heavier than their Li counterparts. (2) Na + /Na has a relatively higher reduction potential (−2.7 V vs SHE) compared with Li + /Li (E = −3.04 V vs SHE). This limits the potential of NIB anode to be higher than −2.7 V versus SHE to avoid the Na plating and the growth of Na dendrites. Thus, it is more difficult to develop NIBs with a voltage comparable or higher than LIBs. Nevertheless, −2.7 V versus SHE is still one of the lowest reduction potentials and thus NIBs yet can have a high voltage when coupled with a high-potential cathode. And (3) Na + has a larger radius (0.97 Å) than that of Li + (0.64). This may lead to a larger volume strain during sodiation and result in poor cycling performance. The larger radius of Na + may also cause its slow diffusion kinetics Development of efficient, affordable, and sustainable energy storage technologies has become an area of interest due to the worsening environmental issues and rising technological dependence on Li-ion batteries. Na-ion batteries (NIBs) have been receiving intensive research efforts during the last few years. Owing to their potentially low cost and relatively high energy density, NIBs are promising energy storage devices, especially for stationary applications. A fundamental understanding of electrode properties during electrochemical reactions is important for the development of low cost, high-energy density, and long shelf life NIBs. This Review aims to summarize and discuss reaction mechanisms of the major types of NIB electrode materials reported. By appreciating how the material works and the fundamental flaws it possesses, it is hoped that this Review will assist readers in coming up with innovative solutions for designing better materials for NIBs. Na-Ion Batteries The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under

Advanced Energy Materials, 2020

technologies. Unlike lithium, whose market is already very tight, sodium mineral deposits are almost infinite, evenly distributed worldwide, much easier to extract and thereby attainable at low cost. [1-4] If the realization of Na-rechargeable batteries could be practically possible, there will be nearly three orders of magnitude relaxation in the constraints on lithium-based resources, accompanied by sustainability, improved environmental benevolence, and cost reduction (Table 1). Even more appealing is the possible use of the widely available and lighter aluminum, rather than copper, as negative current collector and hard carbon from renewable sources instead of graphite for the negative electrode. Finally, the stability of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) in the fully discharged state would significantly enhance the safety associated with the shipment of large-format SIBs worldwide. These beneficial features of sodiumbased cells revived the research work on Na-based rechargeable batteries and accordingly captured the attention of both the academic research and industry sectors. However, similar to LIB, most of the research work in Na-based batteries have focused on the development and elaboration of negative and positive For sodium (Na)-rechargeable batteries to compete, and go beyond the currently prevailing Li-ion technologies, mastering the chemistry and accompanying phenomena is of supreme importance. Among the crucial components of the battery system, the electrolyte, which bridges the highly polarized positive and negative electrode materials, is arguably the most critical and indispensable of all. The electrolyte dictates the interfacial chemistry of the battery and the overall performance, having an influence over the practical capacity, rate capability (power), chemical/thermal stress (safety), and lifetime. In-depth knowledge of electrolyte properties provides invaluable information to improve the design, assembly, and operation of the battery. Thus, the full-scale appraisal of both tailored electrolytes and the concomitant interphases generated at the electrodes need to be prioritized. The deployment of large-format Na-based rechargeable batteries also necessitates systematic evaluation and detailed appraisal of the safety-related hazards of Na-based batteries. Hence, this review presents a comprehensive account of the progress, status, and prospect of various Na +-ion electrolytes, including solvents, salts and additives, their interphases and potential hazards.