Improving the Electrochemical Properties of Cathode Materials for Sodium Ion Batteries
Authors: Bajars Gunars , Nesterova Inara , Kruze Beate , Hodakovska Julija , Kucinskis Gints 
Published: November 2022

Energy storage systems made from abundant materials are essential for the transition to a more sustainable economy. Although today lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the most popular battery technology, the growing demand and low availability of lithium, as well as the use of cobalt and other rare metals raise questions about the sustainability and long-term viability of LIB as the only energy storage solution. The high abundance of sodium content and relative similarity to LIBs, allows the sodium ion batteries (SIBs) to be considered as alternative for stationary energy storage [1]. However, the widespread adoption of SIB technology is hampered by many challenges, including the relatively low energy density compared to LIB. Lower energy density electrodes, such as Na2FeP2O7, are generally stable during cycling [2], while many higher energy density electrodes, such as NaxMnO2, have had a shorter cycle life [3]. In this work we show several possible solutions how to improve the electrochemical properties of the SIBs made of these cathode materials.

The promising cathode material Na2FeP2O7 was studied to improve its electrical conductivity, which is often low in the case of sodium pyrophosphates. Solution synthesis was used to prepare pristine Na2FeP2O7 and Na2FeP2O7/C composite cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries, using glucose as a carbon source. While the pristine Na2FeP2O7 displays capacity of only 45 mAh/g due to the relatively large grain size, the addition of carbon increases the capacity to up to 92 mAh/g (95% of the theoretical 97 mAh/g capacity) with excellent rate capability, as 44 mAh/g capacity is still retained even at 20 C (1.94 A/g) current. The optimal content of carbon was found to be 4.8%. The initial capacity of 81 mAh/g is fully retained after 500 cycles at 1 C, indicating excellent cycle life of Na2FeP2O7/C. Electrochemical measurements were carried out in 1 M NaClO4 salt in propylene carbonate as electrolyte and show that the addition of 5 wt.% fluoroethylene carbonate solid electrolyte interphase stabilizing additive greatly benefits the rate and cycling performance of Na2FeP2O7/C as measured in half-cells [4].

Na0,67MnO2 is another compound that is widely studied as cathode materials in sodium ion batteries. Currently polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is the most popular binder choice. In our study, a novel tetrabutylammonium (TBA) alginate binder is used to prepare a Na0,67MnO2 electrode for sodium-ion batteries with improved electrochemical performance. The ageing of the electrodes has been characterized. TBA alginate-based electrodes are compared to PVDF and Na alginate-based electrodes and show favorable electrochemical performance, with gravimetric capacity values of up to 164 mAh/g, which is 6% higher than measured for the electrode prepared with PVDF binder. TBA alginate-based Na0,67MnO2 electrodes also display good rate capability and improved cyclability and their solid–electrolyte interface is similar to that of PVDF-based electrodes. As the only salt of alginic acid soluble in non-aqueous solvents, TBA alginate emerges as a good alternative to PVDF binder in battery applications where the water-based processing of electrode slurries is not feasible, such as the demonstrated case with Na0,67MnO2 [5].

Overall, we have shown that binder and electrolyte selection can significantly improve the electrochemical properties of electrode materials for SIBs.

The financial support of projects No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/166 “Advanced materials for sodium Ion batteries” and No. lzp-2020/1-0391 “Advanced polymer – ionic liquid composites for sodium-ion polymer batteries” is greatly acknowledged. Institute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01–2016-2017-Teaming Phase 2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.

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