An All‐Ceramic Solid‐State Rechargeable Na⁺‐Battery Operated at Intermediate Temperatures

Abstract

5380 www.MaterialsViews.com wileyonlinelibrary.com e.g. lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), is the cost of lithium. Lithium is a light element neither earth-abundant (ranked the 25 th of the most abundant elements) nor evenly distributed geologically on the earth. It is, therefore, a relatively expensive element, roughly 30 times more expensive than sodium, another light alkaline element. [ 1,2 ] Based on these facts, it would seem to be rational to develop all-solid-state sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) that are advantageous in both cost and safety, even though they may exhibit slightly lower Nernst potential than LIBs due to thermodynamic reasons. In fact, NIBs have been investigated for nearly half a century. The most successful demonstration is the sodium-sulfur (NAS) and ZEBRA rechargeable batteries operated at 250-350 °C, in which a ceramic Na + -conductor, Na-β′′-Al 2 O 3 , is used as the electrolyte to separate two molten Na/Na x S and Na/NiCl 2 anode/ cathode pairs for NAS and ZEBRA, respectively. [ 1,[3][4][5] However, active molten Na is a chemical hazard to safe operations. Extra safety measures have to be taken into account, which in turn increases the overall system cost. Furthermore, the molten state of Na needs to be maintained all the time, even when the battery is not in operation, in order to avoid a disastrous "freezing" effect. This requirement costs an additional >10% of its own capacity per day. [ 6 ] The NAS/ZEBRA battery technology, therefore, will need to overcome the "molten electrodes" barriers in order to become a safe and commercially viable product. [ 3 ] On the other hand, NIBs have also been demonstrated with good room-temperature performance in recent years with liquid electrolytes and solid-state electrodes. [7][8][9][10] The all-solid-state rechargeable batteries have been considered the next-generation energy storage devices because of their unequivocal advantages over liquid-based counterparts in thermal and chemical stabilities, mechanical robustness, cost and safety. [11][12][13] The all-solid-state Li + and Na + rechargeable batteries are the most studied systems due to the availability of solid Li + /Na + conductors and a long history of research. So far, all-solid-state LIBs have been demonstrated with solid Li + -conductors such as garnet Li 5 La 3 M 2 O 12 (M = Nb, Ta), [ 14,15 ] perovskite La 0.5 Li 0.5 TiO 3[ 16 ] and thio-LISICON Li 3.25 Ge 0.25 P 0.75 S 4 [ 17,18 ] as the electrolyte, LiCoO 2 as the cathode and Li/C as the anode. [ 15,18,19 ] A multilayered ceramic-based LIB comprising of a Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 as the electrolyte and Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 as both cathode and anode has recently been fabricated by spark plasma sintering. [ 20,21 ] Similarly, all-solid-state NIBs have also been reported with NASICON (Na 3 Zr 2 Si 2 PO 12 ) as the electrolyte, A major challenge to the development of the next-generation all-solid-state rechargeable battery technology is the inferior performance caused by insuffi cient ionic conductivity in the electrolyte and poor mixed io...

Recent advances in all-solid-state rechargeable lithium batteries

“…Another strategy is increasing operating temperature so that the ion motion in solid state systems can be enhanced. This approach has been used by Huang et al [236] in an all ceramic rechargeable Na + -ion battery. However, it also presents great engineering challenge for the battery systems.…”

A Na+ Superionic Conductor for Room-Temperature Sodium Batteries

“…This explains the reason why, despite increasing interest in solid-state electrolytes, little progress in solid-state batteries has been reported, with only few publications on oxide-based solid-state sodium batteries567. In the present work, the fabrication of a room temperature solid-state Na-S battery using an oxide electrolyte is demonstrated that represents the first step towards the creation of a solid-state room-temperature Na-S battery.…”

First Introduction of NiSe2 to Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries: A Hybrid of Graphene-Wrapped NiSe2/C Porous Nanofiber

“…Next-generation rechargeable batteries have been extensively studied as a potential power source for large-scale devices such as electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and smart grids 1 2 3 4 . In addition, Na-ion batteries (NIBs) have recently received significant attention owing to their low cost and abundant global reserves compared to those of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) 5 6 7 8 9 10 . However, Na ion have a larger ionic radius and molar mass than Li ion; hence, NIBs exhibit lower specific capacity and rate capability, larger volume change, and shorter cycling life than LIBs 11 12 13 .…”