Research Progress on Phosphorus-based Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The availability of renewable energy resources (e.g., solar, wind, and tides) is crucial for promoting sustainable development and alleviating environmental issues. However, the intermittent nature of renewable energy requires the application of gridlevel electrical-energy storage (EES) technologies to achieve a continuous supply of electricity. As is well known, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high energy density dominate the rechargeable battery market. When faced with the requirements of large-scale power stations, high cost, and limited availability of raw materials, these become serious issues in the application of LIBs. In contrast, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), which share similar operation mechanisms with LIBs, are considered to be more suitable for grid-level storage due to easy accessibility and geographically available reserves of sodium raw material, with significant improvements in its processing technology made recently. Nevertheless, limited energy density and unsatisfactory cycling life hinder the commercialization of SIBs significantly, which necessitates the use of novel electrode materials with high specific capacities and extended durability. Compared with the accelerated development of cathodes, graphite, on the anode side, as a commercialized anode for LIBs fails to store Na-ions owing to unfavorable thermodynamics. Hence, discovering and designing novel anode materials for SIBs have become a significant challenge. Among different anode materials, phosphorus-based (including phosphides) anodes have been recognized as one of the most promising materials because of their high theoretical capacity (2596 mAh•g −1 for phosphorus) and the abundance of phosphorus resources. Nonetheless, phosphorus-based anodes exhibit low conductivity and large volume expansion, resulting in inferior cycling performance and rating property. Therefore, various strategies, including nanosizing, morphology control, and carbon (noncarbon) modification, have been adopted to improve the performance of phosphorus-based anodes. In this review, the current progress on phosphorus-based anodes for SIBs are summarized. The Na-storage mechanisms of phosphorusbased materials are briefly discussed. Next, strategies for overcoming the disadvantages of phosphorus-based anodes are discussed extensively, including the size and morphology adjustment as well as the carbon (non-carbon) modification. Specifically, the carbon modification not only increases the conductivity but also decreases the volume expansion. Finally, the challenges and perspective of phosphorus-based anodes for SIBs are proposed. In this review paper, the development of suitable anode materials that can help to accelerate the commercialization of SIBs is highlighted.

Improved electrode kinetics of a modified Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode through Zr substitution and nitrogen-doped carbon coating towards robust electrochemical performance at low temperature

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Among these cathode candidates, Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 (NVP), a typical polyanionic compound with a sodium superionic conductor (NASICON), has been proved to be one of the most promising cathodes due to the fast ionic migration and structural stability induced by its open framework and replaceable cation sites, providing a large theoretical capacity of 117 mA h g −1 and a reasonable voltage plateau of 3.4 V (versus Na + / Na). 9,[15][16][17] Unfortunately, poor cycling, unsatisfactory rate capability, low coulombic efficiency, and high inner resistance are often observed for the NVP cathodes due to their poor intrinsic electronic conductivity (about 10 −9 S cm −1 ) resulting from the phosphate-based frameworks. 12,18 Furthermore, the degradation of electrochemical performance will be more serious when operated at low temperatures because of the decreased ionic diffusion kinetics and increased electrochemical polarization, restricting their applications in cold climates.…”

RGO-Coated MOF-Derived In₂Se₃ as a High-Performance Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries

“…Then sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) came into view due to the natural abundance of sodium and similarity to lithium [4][5][6][7] . It can offer enhanced safety and environmental credentials as well as lower costs 8 . Nonetheless, so far, the energy density achieved is only half of its lithium-ion counterpart.…”

Thermodynamic Transformation of Crystalline Organic Hybrid Iron Selenide to FexSey@CN Microrods for Sodium Ion Storage

“…Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been regarded as a promising energy storage technology, because of their exceptional advantages of abundant resource and high economic efficiency. − Because of the large theoretical capacity and good electrochemical reversibility, − inorganic metal chalcogenides (such as MoS 2 , FeSe 2 , Sb 2 Se 3 ) have attracted growing attention as anode materials of SIBs. − However, most of inorganic metal chalcogenides face some challenges in the electrochemical reactions, including poor electric conductivity, huge volume changes, and sluggish ionic transport kinetics. Thus, rational design of micronanostructures of metal chalcogenides and decoration with carbon materials are necessary to improve their capability for sodium-ion storage. − Until now, several approaches have been developed to prepare carbon-coated metal chalcogenide composites as anode materials for SIBs.…”