Micro/Nanostructured Materials for Sodium Ion Batteries and Capacitors

Abstract

High-efficiency energy storage technologies and devices have received considerable attention due to their ever-increasing demand. Na-related energy storage systems, sodium ion batteries (SIBs) and sodium ion capacitors (SICs), are regarded as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage because of the abundant sources and low cost of sodium. In the last decade, many efforts, including structural and compositional optimization, effective modification of available materials, and design and exploration of new materials, have been made to promote the development of Na-related energy storage systems. In this Review, the latest developments of micro/nanostructured electrode materials for advanced SIBs and SICs, especially the rational design of unique composites with high thermodynamic stabilities and fast kinetics during charge/discharge, are summarized. In addition to the recent achievements, the remaining challenges with respect to fundamental investigations and commercialized applications are discussed in detail. Finally, the prospects of sodium-based energy storage systems are also described.

Mesopore‐Induced Ultrafast Na+‐Storage in T‐Nb2O5/Carbon Nanofiber Films toward Flexible High‐Power Na‐Ion Capacitors

“…For example, flexible SCs based on graphene frameworks, carbon nanotube architectures, carbon nanofiber membranes, and pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose, exhibit an ultrahigh power density of over 50 kW kg −1 and an outstanding cycling durability (>10 000 cycles), while the energy density of these SCs is low (usually <10 Wh kg −1 ) due to the limited charge accumulation. In contrast to SCs, flexible LIBs show a high energy density (150–300 Wh kg −1 ) but usually possess low power density and poor cycle life (<1000 cycles) because of the sluggish solid‐state ion diffusion in electrodes . Therefore, many works are focused on the development of hybrid lithium (or sodium)‐ion capacitors (LICs and NICs), which could combine the complementary advantages of a battery‐type anode and a capacitive cathode from the different work mechanisms in one device.…”

High‐Performance Sodium‐Ion Battery Anode via Rapid Microwave Carbonization of Natural Cellulose Nanofibers with Graphene Initiator

“…The issues of environmental pollution and high energy consumption are increasingly outstanding, which are in great demand to be addressed through the development of a large‐scale, low cost and environmentally friendly energy storage system . In the past three decades, lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely investigated.…”

Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Iron Phosphide/Biomass Carbon Composites for Binder‐Free Sodium‐Ion Batteries

“…Because of the great global abundance of Na in earth and analogous energy storage mechanism, sodium ion batteries are considered as a potential alternative for lithium ion batteries. However, the large radius of Na + (55 % larger than that of Li + ) results in sluggish sodium ion transfer and large volume fluctuation during charge/discharge processes …”