Modification improves sodium‐ion batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are a cheaper and more abundant alternative to lithium-ion batteries, and they could power future electric cars and grid storage if they could be made to store enough energy. NaNi_1/3Fe_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ is a material used for sodium-ion batteries, but it suffers from various constraints. In research published in Carbon Energy, scientists used what’s called a valence engineering strategy to modify the oxidation state of this material so that it is both higher energy and more practical.

The modification led to a sodium-ion battery that lasts longer, works well in wide temperature ranges, and doesn’t significantly degrade when exposed to air and moisture.

“We discovered that by simply breaking the traditional Ni/Mn stoichiometric symmetry than the usual balanced recipe, the iron—or Fe—suddenly becomes much more active and delivers more electron transfer numbers. As a result, our material can offer 596 Wh kg-1 based on cathode mass, which is 15% more than the NaNi_1/3Fe_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ benchmark,” said co-corresponding Chenlong Dong, PhD, an associate professor at Tianjin University of Technology, in China.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cey2.70142

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About the Journal
Carbon Energy is an open access energy technology journal publishing innovative interdisciplinary clean energy research from around the world. Our aim is to tackle complex energy challenges and inspire new technologies for carbon emission control.

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