Low-Cost, Dendrite-Blocking Polymer-Sb 2 O 3 Separators for Lithium and Sodium Batteries

299

258

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][2][3][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.

Section: Electrolytes For Na‐based Rechargeable Batteriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electrolytes For Na‐based Rechargeable Batteriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Electrolytes and Interphases in Sodium‐Based Rechargeable Batteries: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Eshetu

Elia

Armand

et al. 2020

299

258

“…Compared with lithium, even more aggressive growth of sodium dendrites has been demonstrated by electrochemical stripping and plating using sodium and lithium metal in comparable symmetric cells . In this regard, the Young's modulus of sodium metal (10 GPa) is substantially higher than that of lithium metal (4.9 GPa) further exacerbating dendrite penetration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Highly Stable Sodium–Oxygen Battery Using a Mechanically Reinforced Membrane

Ansari

Virwani

Yahyazadeh

et al. 2018

Self Cite

Sodium–oxygen batteries have drawn considerable attention due to their high specific energy and the high abundance of sodium. However, stable sodium–oxygen batteries currently require complex cathode formulations. Here, the first demonstration of a highly stable sodium–oxygen system comprising a simple carbon cathode, an ultradry electrolyte, and a newly designed separator that is both capable of blocking dendrites and is impenetrable to oxygen is reported. The battery shows remarkable rechargeability of more than 400 cycles at the current density of 0.28 mA m−2 to the capacity of 1.0 mAh cm−2. An oxygen diffusion study using a dye‐assisted visual chemical reaction proves that the separator efficiently restricts oxygen crossover toward the anode. An in situ atomic force microscope study shows that the discharge product (NaO2) is stable against the electrolyte under anhydrous conditions for over 48 h in either argon or oxygen atmospheres. The sodium–oxygen battery also demonstrates small overpotential (<40 mV) upon charging and remarkable oxygen efficiency (>96%).

“…[24][25][26] Nevertheless, most gel-polymer electrolytes have inferior mechanical strength and fail to block dendrite growth from the anode to the cathode that may develop at the anode/liquid interface. [ 27 ] The mechanical problem with a gel-polymer electrolyte can be solved by using a nonwoven fabric as a reinforcement scaffold [ 28,29 ] or by creating polymer systems with a cross-linked structure. [30][31][32] An advantage of the cross-linked polymer structure is its possibility to block effectively dendrite growth as demonstrated with the cross-linked PEO in lithium-metal batteries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sodium‐Ion Battery with a Low‐Cost Cross‐Linked Gel‐Polymer Electrolyte

Gao

Zhou

Park

et al. 2016

Self Cite

141

successfully accommodated by a poly mer network binder without signifi cantly scarifying the high capacity of the Sb electrode as reported in our previous work. [ 10 ] As a cathode material, the NASICONframework structure of Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 is a host to the three sodium-ions per formula unit. [ 11 ] A single interstitial site per formula is occupied by a less-mobile sodiumion and three equivalent sites are occupied by two mobile sodium-ions. Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 has an acceptable room-temperature sodium-ion conductivity, a high voltage of the V 4+ /V 3+ redox couple, and an excellent cycle life. [ 12 ] As an anode free of metallic sodium, alloy-type anodes can provide large capacities with a good reversibility of sodiation and desodiation provided the anode architecture can accommodate the large volume change that occurs during charge and discharge. [ 13 ] The electrochemical potential of the sodium-antimony alloy is about 0.7-0.8 eV below the Fermi energy of metallic sodium; this energy difference is large enough to allow a fast charge without plating of elemental sodium, thereby eliminating safety problems associated with sodium dendrite formation and growth. However, with an organic-liquid electrolyte, a sodium-ion permeable passivating solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) forms on the alloy surface on the initial charge of a full-cell with its sodium-ions taken irreversibly from the cathode and trapped into the SEI. The loss of cathode capacity in a full-cell can be dramatically reduced either by performing a pre-sodiated anode [14][15][16] or by adding a sacrifi cial sodium-ion source of Na 2 NiO 2 to the cathode. [ 17 ] Since almost 10 wt% of Na 2 NiO 2 needs to be added to the cathode, we have chosen to prefer the pre-sodiation strategy to form the SEI on the Sb anode prior to the assembly of the full-cell.The tests of sodium-ion full-cells reported previously have concentrated on the application of organic-liquid electrolytes. [5][6][7][8][9] However, the utilization of fl ammable liquid electrolytes in sodium-ion batteries may raise safety concerns as in the case of lithium-ion batteries, especially in large-scale energy storage systems. The hard and brittle ceramic or glass electrolytes have been proposed to address the safety issues, but the solid-solid electrode-electrolyte interfaces may not sustain a long cycle life. [ 18,19 ] The solid-polymer electrolytes, typically based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), have also been extensively explored, but they exhibit too low an ionic conductivity at room temperature (≈10 −5 S cm −1 ) and poor resistance to oxidation at relatively high voltage. [20][21][22][23] On the other hand, the gel-polymer electrolytes, taking advantages of the polymer fl exibility and the high ionic conductivity of the liquid electrolytes,The design of a sodium-ion rechargeable battery with an antimony anode, a Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 cathode, and a low-cost composite gel-polymer electrolyte based on cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) is reported. The application of an antimony anode, on ...