Copper and Zirconium Codoped O3-Type Sodium Iron and Manganese Oxide as the Cobalt/Nickel-Free High-Capacity and Air-Stable Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 13; no. 38; pp. 45528 - 45537
• Main Authors: Zheng, Ya-Min, Huang, Xiao-Bao, Meng, Xiao-Meng, Xu, Shou-Dong, Chen, Liang, Liu, Shi-Bin, Zhang, Ding
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 29.09.2021
• Subjects: Energy, Environmental, and Catalysis Applications; sodium iron and manganese oxide; sodium-ion batteries; codoping; air stability; cathode
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c12684

Considering the abundance of iron and manganese within the Earth’s crust, the cathode O3-NaFe0.5Mn0.5O2 has shown great potential for large-scale energy storage. Following the strategy of introducing specific heteroelements to optimize the structural stability for energy storage, the work has obtained an O3-type NaFe0.4Mn0.49Cu0.1Zr0.01O2 that exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance and air stability. It displays an initial reversible capacity of 147.5 mAh g–1 at 0.1C between 2 and 4.1 V, a capacity retention ratio exceeding 69.6% after 100 cycles at 0.2C, and a discharge capacity of 70.8 mAh g–1 at a high rate of 5C, which is superior to that of O3-NaFe0.5Mn0.5O2. The codoping of Cu/Zr reserves the layered O3 structure and enlarges the interlayer spacing, promoting the diffusion of Na+. In addition, the structural stability and air stability observed by Cu-doping is well maintained via the incorporation of extra Zr favoring a highly reversible phase conversion process. Thus, this work has demonstrated an efficient strategy for developing cobalt/nickel-free high-capacity and air-stable cathodes for sodium-ion batteries.