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Room‐Temperature Liquid Na–K Anode Membranes
Author(s) -
Xue Leigang,
Zhou Weidong,
Xin Sen,
Gao Hongcai,
Li Yutao,
Zhou Aijun,
Goodenough John B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201809622
Subject(s) - electrolyte , anode , materials science , alkali metal , alloy , chemical engineering , stripping (fiber) , membrane , liquid metal , porosity , propylene carbonate , inorganic chemistry , metallurgy , electrode , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
The Na–K alloy is a liquid at 25 °C over a large compositional range. The liquid alloy is also immiscible in the organic‐liquid electrolytes of an alkali‐ion rechargeable battery, providing dendrite‐free liquid alkali‐metal batteries with a liquid–liquid anode‐electrolyte interface at room temperature. The two liquids are each immobilized in a porous matrix. In previous work, the porous matrix used to immobilize the alloy was a carbon paper that is wet by the alloy at 420 °C; the alloy remains in the paper at room temperature. Here we report a room‐temperature vacuum infiltration of the alloy into a porous Cu or Al membrane and a reversible stripping/plating of the liquid alloy with the immobilized organic‐liquid electrolyte; no self‐diacharge is observed since the liquid Na–K does not dissolve into the liquid carbonate electrolytes. The preparation and stripping/plating of the liquid alkali‐metal anode can both now be done safely at room temperature.