Cornell researchers have uncovered the source of a persistent problem limiting the durability of sodium-ion batteries, providing manufacturers with new strategies for powering the 21st century.
Sodium-ion batteries are a promising technology for electric vehicles, the energy grid and other applications because they are made from abundant materials that are energy dense, nonflammable and operate well in colder temperatures. But engineers have yet to perfect the chemistry. While the lithium-ion batteries found in modern electronics can recharge thousands of times, most variations of sodium-ion batteries can only cycle a small fraction of that.
Artistic representation of the atomic shuffling during the phase transition from P2 (left) and O2 (right) phases, revealed by the operando single particle X-ray diffraction in sodium-ion batteries.
The poor durability stems from a specific atomic reshuffling in the battery''s operation – the P2-O2 phase transition – as ions traveling through the battery disorder crystal structures and eventually break them. While the phase transition has been of interest to researchers, the mechanisms behind it have been difficult to study, especially during battery operation.
Key aspects of that mechanism have been revealed by a Cornell team from the lab of Andrej Singer, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, and were published Feb. 1 in the journal Advanced Energy Materials. Doctoral student Jason Huang is the lead author.
The team found that as sodium ions move through the battery, the misorientation of crystal layers inside individual particles increases before the layers suddenly align just prior to the P2-O2 phase transition.
The team was able to observe the phenomenon after developing a new X-ray imaging technique using the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, which allowed them to observe, in real time and in mass scale, the behavior of single particles within their battery sample.
"The unexpected atomic alignment is invisible in conventional powder X-ray diffraction measurements as it requires seeing inside individual cathode nanoparticles," Singer said. "Our unprecedented high-throughput data allowed us to reveal the subtle, yet critical, mechanism."
The finding led the team to propose new design options for the type of sodium-ion battery they were using, which they plan to investigate in future research projects. One solution is to modify the battery chemistry to introduce a strategic disorder to the particles just before the flawed transition phase, according to Huang.
"By changing the ratios of our transition metals, in this case, nickel and manganese," Huang said, "we can introduce a bit of disorder and potentially reduce the ordering effect we observed."
Huang said the new characterization technique can be used to reveal complex phase behaviors in other nanoparticle systems, but its best application may remain in next-generation energy storage technologies.
"We''re pushing the frontiers of sodium-ion batteries and what we know about them," said Huang, "and using this knowledge to design better batteries will help to unlock the technology for practical applications in the future."
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation. Collaborators included researchers from the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of California, San Diego.
Deakin University researchers, in collaboration with University of Queensland, have developed a new non-flammable electrolyte material for use in sodium batteries, which provides a safer and cheaper alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
Electrolytes in traditional lithium and sodium batteries are commonly flammable, so this breakthrough – published this month in the prestigious journal Nature Materials – paves the way for a new critical material for safer batteries.
Led by Dr Xiaoen Wang and Professor Maria Forsyth from Deakin University''s Institute for Frontier Materials, the team has developed a solid polymer electrolyte material which can replace the flammable liquid solvents currently used in sodium batteries.
"Most industries that develop sodium batteries generally use carbon-based electrode and liquid electrolyte, which has low capacity and also can fuel a fire if the battery overheats," Dr Wang said.
"We are taking a different approach, using reactive sodium metal as an anode to increase battery capacity and in the process are developing safer electrolytes to ensure the safety of sodium batteries."
A key component in the electrolyte was developed by Dr Cheng Zhang and Professor Andrew K. Whittaker based at the University of Queensland''s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.
Known as a fluorine-containing polymer and originally used for biological application, this is the first time this class of polymer has been used in solid-state sodium batteries.
One drawback of current sodium batteries is that they do not last as long as long as lithium batteries and have a lower energy density. However, in pairing them with the new polymer electrolytes, they offer close to 1000 cycles, comparable to the current well-developed lithium batteries.
To continue and extend Deakin''s extensive research into sodium and lithium batteries, Deakin is currently establishing a new $9.5 million facility at the Melbourne Burwood campus, due for completion in August this year.
The expansion project, which includes a $5.2 million contribution from the Victorian Government via the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF), involves upgrading the current Battery Technology Research and Innovation Hub (BatTRI-Hub) facility to include a testing lab and pilot production line to research and manufacture advanced lithium and sodium batteries.
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