High-Power and High-Capacity Na-Ion Full Cells

Alternative rechargeable battery systems with transporting ions other than Li ion have attracted growing interests in recent years. While lithium-ion battery technology is quite mature, there remain questions regarding safety, lifetime, and cost. Sodium-based batteries are particularly attractive due to the promise of low cost associated with the abundance of sodium and enhanced stability of nonaqueous battery electrolytes due to the lower operating voltages. Creation of nanostructured electrode materials represents one of the most attractive strategies to dramatically enhance the transport of electrons, ions, and molecules associated with cycling, enabling the use of variety of nonconventional substrates as active electrode materials. To achieve fast mass transport and high power density, unique hierarchical nanoarchitectures such as nanotubes and nanoribbons have been investigated. Excellent electronic and/or ionic conductivity is required for unhindered charge flow through out the whole device. Nanomaterials can offer a possible solution to these requirements with their ability to connect materials and build up structures from the molecular level. Electronically interconnected nanoporosity enables full participation of every electrode atom in achieving theoretical capacity while short diffusion length of Na + transporting ions leads to exceptionally fast charging.