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Vanadium orthophosphate and oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube (ox‐MWCNT) composites were applied as anodic electroactive materials in a sodium‐ion battery. Carbon nanotubes reduce the resistance of anodic materials, prevent drastic volume expansion, and allow easy transport of electrolyte ions, leading to an improvement in the electrochemical performance of electroactive materials. Theoretical modeling of the VPO4 /ox‐CNT interphase indicates the conducting properties of the crystalline c‐VPO4 /ox‐MWCNT composite and the significant contribution of CNTs in the charge transfer process. As anodes in sodium‐ion batteries, crystalline VPO4 (c‐VPO4 ) and amorphous VPO4 (a‐VPO4 ) exhibited initial discharge capacities of 125 mAh g−1 and 110 mAh g−1, respectively. The incorporation of vanadium phosphate into the network of ox‐MWCNTs results in a large increase in the capacity performance of electroactive materials. Discharge capacities of 1642 mAh g−1 and 1680 mAh g−1 were obtained for the first cycle in the case of the c‐VPO4 /ox‐MWCNT 50 % w/w and a‐VPO4/ox‐MWCNT 50 % w/w anodes, respectively. The capacity of these composite materials significantly decreases in the second cycle, reaching a stable capacity performance. The limiting capacity was 328 mAh g−1 for composites containing 50 % w/w ox‐MWCNTs.

Invited for this issue's Front Cover is the group of Prof. Krzysztof Winkler from the Department of Chemistry, University of Bialystok (Poland). The cover picture schematically illustrates the electrode process that runs during reduction of a composite consisting of the vanadium phosphate and multiwalled carbon nanotubes for a sodium‐ion battery. Such material exhibits promising capacitance properties, good rate performance and long lifetime. It can be used as anode material in sodium‐ion batteries. Read the full text of the Research Article at 10.1002/celc.202200174.

The Front Cover schematically illustrates the structure of the anodic electroactive composite of vanadium phosphate and multiwalled carbon nanotubes for a sodium battery. The complex processes in this system involve electron transfer at the electrode surface/electroactive material interphase, electron and ion transfer within the electroactive material, double layer charging, and the vanadium phosphate reduction process. The structure of vanadium phosphate and multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite facilitates the efficient transport of both ions and electrons. Such a sodium battery anode exhibits promising capacitance properties, good rate performance and long lifetime. The capacity performance of this composite is even higher compared to the capacity properties of carbon materials such as ford carbon, which is commonly used in sodium ion batteries. More information can be found in the Research Article by A. Basa et al.