Longevous Sodium Metal Anodes with High Areal Capacity Enabled by 3D-Printed Sodiophilic Monoliths

Abstract

Sodium metal anode, featured by favorable redox voltage and material availability, offers a feasible avenue toward high-energydensity devices. However, uneven metal deposition and notorious dendrite proliferation synchronously hamper its broad application prospects. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) porous hierarchical silver/ reduced graphene oxide (Ag/rGO) microlattice aerogel is devised as a sodiophilic monolith, which is realized by a direct ink writing 3D printing technology. The thus-printed Na@Ag/rGO electrode retains a durable cycling lifespan over 3100 h at 3.0 mA cm −2 /1.0 mAh cm −2 , concurrently harvesting a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.80%. Impressively, it can be cycled for 340 h at a stringent condition of 6.0 mA cm −2 with a large areal capacity of 60.0 mAh cm −2 (∼1036.31 mAh g −1 ). Meanwhile, the well-regulated Na ion flux and uniform deposition kinetics are systematically probed by comprehensive electroanalytical analysis and theoretical simulations. As a result, assembled Na metal full battery delivers a long cycling sustainability over 500 cycles at 100 mA g −1 with a low per-cycle decay of 0.85%. The proposed strategy might inspire the construction of high-capacity Na metal anodes with appealing stability.

Printable Energy Storage: Stay or Go?

“…In general, a standalone manufacturing technology is highly unlikely to address all the existing challenges faced by LIBs . The limitation of lithium resources has led to exploration of alternative devices such as sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries, as well as sodium/potassium/zinc metal batteries, which utilize more abundant natural resources. − Furthermore, the safety of LIBs has always been an issue of concern. One approach to address this challenge is replacing the flammable organic electrolytes by aqueous electrolytes. , Solid-state electrolytes have also shown promise in enhancing battery safety.…”

3D printing of hierarchically micro/nanostructured electrodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries

“…To further enhance the ion migration and charge transfer rate of the 3D printed rGO anode, Ag nanowires were added to the printable rGO inks. 112 After 3D printing and freeze drying, a hierarchically porous Ag/rGO microlattice aerogel electrode was fabricated and used as Na metal hosts (Fig. 8e–g).…”

Ultrahigh areal capacity and long cycling stability of sodium metal anodes boosted using a 3D-printed sodiophilic MXene/rGO microlattice aerogel

“…40 Moreover, a 3D-printed microlattice provides a large areal capacity by increasing the printed layers and a high rate capability by using conductive and sodiophilic materials. 18,41 This specially dedicated Ti 3 C 2 T x /rGO microlattice aerogel features a periodic hierarchical structure with sub-millimeter microchannels and micrometer pores, providing a large specific surface area that can effectively reduce the local current density to enlarge the dendrite nucleation Sand's time. 42–46 The periodical porous structure of the 3D-printed aerogel not only promotes the contact between the electrode and electrolyte, but also accommodates the large volume expansion.…”

“…42–46 The periodical porous structure of the 3D-printed aerogel not only promotes the contact between the electrode and electrolyte, but also accommodates the large volume expansion. 41,47–50 Furthermore, the abundant functional groups on Ti 3 C 2 T x provide plenty of active nucleation sites, leading to uniform sodium deposition to inhibit dendrite formation. Benefiting from these advantages, the prepared 3D-printed Ti 3 C 2 T x /rGO microlattice aerogel exhibited excellent electrochemical performance.…”