Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a new structure using sodium-doped graphene. They believe that this new structure anode may overcome some basic problems of improving the storage capacity and service life of sodium ion batteries.
Recently, concerns about the many materials present in typical lithium-ion batteries have been fully documented. Battery suppliers, car manufacturers, and other participants are collaborating with research institutions around the world to develop energy storage that relies on richer materials solution.
In the field of fixed energy storage, the commercial application of sodium ion technology is limited. Because the sodium content is much richer than lithium, and the battery chemical composition has a much lower fire risk, it has several advantages. However, the energy density of sodium is also much lower than that of lithium. At present, the energy density of lithium is limited. Especially in the field of electric vehicles and consumer electronics, the physical size of the battery is the determining factor.
EPFL scientists say that their latest research may open up new ways to increase the capacity of sodium ion batteries. "Lithium is becoming a key material because it is widely used in mobile phones and car batteries, and in principle, sodium may be a cheaper and richer alternative," said Ferenc Simon, who is EPFL Visiting scientist of the Laszlo Forro group. "This prompted us to seek a new battery structure: sodium-doped graphene."
One challenge to increase the capacity of sodium ion batteries is that sodium particles cannot be inserted well into the graphite electrodes commonly used in lithium ion batteries. By replacing graphene with graphene (graphene and graphene are both in the form of carbon, graphite is a crystalline structure, and graphene is a single layer of atoms), they were able to successfully apply sodium to the material.
The team used a chemical process that relied on liquid ammonia as a catalyst to drive the reaction and was able to produce a material consisting of several layers of graphene with a high sodium content. They published their research method on the ultra-long spin life of light alkali atom-doped graphene in "ACS Nano".
This material also opens up potential new avenues in the field of spintronics, and the application of spintronics in the field of transistors and data storage is very important. Although this is a very early discovery, scientists working with EPFL are confident in its commercial potential. Simon, the first author of the paper, said: "Our materials can be synthesized on an industrial scale and still maintain their excellent properties."
However, the team acknowledged that much work needs to be done to develop actual equipment using this technology. They concluded: "But with the nearly exponential growth in battery demand, this study opens up very promising possibilities for innovation."