Nanometer-thin ZrO₂ Coating for NiO on MWCNTs as Anode for Improved Performance of Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

A very simple coprecipitation approach is adopted to prepare ZrO2-coated NiO on MWCNTs nanocomposites with NiO nanoparticles within 10–15 nm size. The XPS studies confirm the presence of Zr, Ni, C, and O elements in the sample, while the BET and BJH analyses reveal a typical surface area of 204.44 m2 g–1 with pores between 10 and 15 nm. The electrochemical performance studies of the ZrO2-coated nanocomposite electrode show a higher charge/discharge capacity of 688.3/688.7 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles with excellent retention capacity (96%) and cycling stability. A minor capacity fading has been observed in the rate performance of the electrodes at currents ranging from 100 to 5000 mA g–1. It also reveals that coin cells tend to maintain their maximum Coulombic efficiency of 99.9% at a low current density, revealing a notable reversible capacity. Therefore, adding MWCNTs significantly increases electrochemical performance and prevents pulverization of active materials. While structural flexibility helps in mitigating the volumetric expansion. During the cycling process, the ZrO2 coating helps improve structural stability and facilitate the diffusion of Na ions.

Boosting the Sodium-Ion Transport and Surface Pseudocapacitance of a SnO2 Nanoflower at a High Mass Loading Level for High Areal Capacity and Fast Sodium-Ion Storage

“…Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are gaining more and more attention as a potential and attractive alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the earth abundance and low cost of sodium resources. − The development of superior electrode materials is the key to upgrading SIBs-based energy storage devices, and nanostructured electrode materials with the characteristics of high specific capacity and fast charging/discharging rate show great promise in high-performance SIBs. − However, the exceptional performance of nanostructured electrode materials is typically limited to laboratory devices using ultrathin electrodes with very low mass loadings (≤1 mg cm –2 ). To transfer exceptional laboratory performance to industry applications and for practical batteries, developing electrodes with mass loadings is very critical but has not drawn proper attention in previous studies.…”