Sodium -based battery design maintains performance at room temperatures and subzero

The fully solid batteries are safe and powerful means of supplying electricity and electronics and storing electricity from the energy network, but the lithium used to build them is rare, expensive and can be devastating for extraction.

Sodium is an inexpensive, abundant and less destructive alternative, but the fully solid batteries they create are currently not working at room temperature.

“It is not a question of sodium against lithium. We need the two. When we think of the energy storage solutions of tomorrow, we must imagine that the same gigafactory can produce products based on lithium and sodium chemings,” said the Y. Shirley Meng, Liew family teacher in molecular engineering at Uchicago Pritzker Scholecular Engineering (Uchicago PME). “This new research brings us closer to this ultimate objective while making fundamental science progress along the way.”

An article in the Meng laboratory, published this week Joulehelps to rectify this problem. Their research increases the reference for all solid batteries with sodium -based state, demonstrating thick cathodes that keep performance at room temperature to subzero conditions.

Research helps put sodium on a more equal playground with lithium for electrochemical performance, said the first author SAM OH of A * Star Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore, a researcher visiting the Meng’s Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion during research.

The way they achieved this objective represents a progression of pure science.

“The breakthrough we have is that we actually stabilize a metastable structure that has not been reported,” said Oh. “This metastable structure of sodium hydridoborate has a very high ion conductivity, at least one order of magnitude greater than that reported in the literature, and three to four orders of magnitude greater than that of the precursor itself.”

Established technique, new field

The team heated a metastable form of sodium hydridoborate to the point that it begins to crystallize, then quickly cooled it to stabilize the crystalline structure. It is a well -established technique, but which has not previously been applied to solid electrolytes, Oh said.

This familiarity could, on the road, help to transform this laboratory innovation into a real product.

“Since this technique is established, we are better able to progress in the future,” said Oh. “If you offer something new or if it is necessary to change or establish processes, the industry will be more reluctant to accept it.”

Twin this metastable phase with an o₃– Type cathode that has been covered with a solid electrolyte based on chloride can create thick high loading cathodes that put this new design beyond previous sodium batteries. Unlike design strategies with a thin cathode, this thick cathode would pack less inactive materials and more cathode “meat”.

“The thicker the cathode, the theoretical battery energy density – the amount of energy being maintained in a specific area – improves,” said Oh.

Current research advances sodium as a viable alternative for batteries, a vital step to combat rarity and environmental damage to lithium. This is one of the many stages in advance.

“It’s still a long trip, but what we have done with this research will help open this opportunity,” said Oh.