Issue 39, 2024

Environmentally responsible synthesis of high-performance P2-Na2/3[Ni1/3Mn2/3]O2 sodium-ion battery cathodes

Abstract

P2-type Na2/3[Ni1/3Mn2/3]O2 (NNMO) is a promising Na-ion battery cathode for its high operation voltage, high gravimetric capacity, and low critical element content. Current methods to make NNMO, such as sol–gel, solid-state reaction, and spray pyrolysis, are not environmentally friendly, as they often use acetate and nitrate metal salt precursors, which release undesirable gaseous byproducts such as CO2 and HNO3 when these metal salts are heat-treated at high temperatures. Decarbonizing our industries and the transportation sector requires not only using batteries to store intermittent renewable energy, but also decarbonizing the synthesis methods to make key components of these batteries, i.e., the electrode materials. Here, we demonstrate an environmentally responsible synthesis of NNMO by direct conversion of metallic Ni powder with various particle sizes (10 nm, 100 nm, 1 μm, 5 μm), a process that only releases O2 and H2O as byproducts, as opposed to the harmful gases released when nickel salts are used. The resulting NNMO made from ≈1 μm commercial Ni powder exhibits an excellent cycling performance as a Na-ion battery cathode. When cycled between 2-4 V vs. Na/Na+, the material exhibits a rate-capability of ≈83 mA h g−1 at 10C (i.e., > 96% theoretical capacity) and ≈ 78 mA h g−1 at 20C (i.e., >90% theoretical capacity), together with a remarkable stability of 93% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 10C. When cycled between 1.3–4 V vs. Na/Na+, the material shows a high initial capacity of ≈134 mA h g−1 at 2C, with a capacity retention of 57% after 500 cycles.

Graphical abstract: Environmentally responsible synthesis of high-performance P2-Na2/3[Ni1/3Mn2/3]O2 sodium-ion battery cathodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 May 2024
Accepted
03 Sep 2024
First published
13 Sep 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024,12, 26857-26865

Environmentally responsible synthesis of high-performance P2-Na2/3[Ni1/3Mn2/3]O2 sodium-ion battery cathodes

J. Fu, M. H. Hassan, J. Liu, H. Koh, A. K. Ng, C. Bruzzi, J. S. Corsi and E. Detsi, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 26857 DOI: 10.1039/D4TA03708A

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