The
expanding energy storage market has created a surge of interest in
the exploration of high energy density alternatives to Li-ion batteries,
and Na metal batteries have received considerable attention due to
their abundant reserves and low cost. Similar to Li metal anodes,
the unstable plating/stripping behaviors of Na metal anodes upon cycling
hinder their practical applications at room temperature. Herein, a
superelastic graphene lattice (GL) with hierarchical structures was
fabricated via a 3D printing technique on the basis of the direct
inkjet writing strategy. This approach enables the precise tailoring
of the multiscale graphene bulk structure, from nanometer GO building
elements to macroscopic monoliths. Due to the pore-structure design
of the GL, the rim regions of the holes demonstrated a highly concentrated
current density and could serve as preferred sites for Na deposition.
This phenomenon was utilized to regulate the Na deposition; hence,
a stable Na metal anode is produced. As a result, a high Coulombic
efficiency of 99.84% was realized for a long lifetime of 500 cycles
(∼1000 h) at a current density of 1 mA cm–2. These results provide a novel insight into the rational design
of graphene-based material structures at multiscale for high-performance
Na metal anodes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.