Revealing the effect of conductive carbon materials on the sodium storage performance of sodium iron sulfate

Wenqing Zhu; Zhiqiang Hao; Xiaoyan Shi; Xunzhu Zhou; Zhuo Yang; Lingling Zhang; Zongcheng Miao; Lin Li; Shu-Lei Chou

doi:10.1039/d3sc06956g

Revealing the effect of conductive carbon materials on the sodium storage performance of sodium iron sulfate

Chem Sci. 2024 Feb 14;15(11):4135-4139. doi: 10.1039/d3sc06956g. eCollection 2024 Mar 13.

Authors

Wenqing Zhu^{1

2}, Zhiqiang Hao^{2

3}, Xiaoyan Shi², Xunzhu Zhou^{2

3}, Zhuo Yang^{2

3}, Lingling Zhang², Zongcheng Miao¹, Lin Li^{2

3}, Shu-Lei Chou^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University Wuhu Anhui 241000 China [email protected].
² Institute for Carbon Neutralization, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China [email protected] [email protected].
³ Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Sodium-Ion Batteries, Wenzhou University Technology Innovation Institute for Carbon Neutralization Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China.

Abstract

Na₂Fe₂(SO₄)₃ (NFS), as a promising cathode for sodium-ion batteries, is still plagued by its poor intrinsic conductivity. In general, hybridization with carbon materials is an effective strategy to improve the sodium storage performance of NFS. However, the role of carbon materials in the electrochemical performance of NFS cathode materials has not been thoroughly investigated. Herein, the effect of carbon materials was revealed by employing various conductive carbon materials as carbon sources. Among these, the NFS coated with Ketjen Black (NFS@KB) shows the largest specific surface area, which is beneficial for electrolyte penetration and rapid ionic/electronic migration, leading to improved electrochemical performance. Therefore, NFS@KB shows a long cycle life (74.6 mA h g^-1 after 1000 cycles), superior rate performance (61.5 mA h g^-1 at a 5.0 A g^-1), and good temperature tolerance (-10 °C to 60 °C). Besides, the practicality of the NFS@KB cathode was further demonstrated by assembling a NFS@KB//hard carbon full cell. Therefore, this research indicates that a suitable carbon material for the NFS cathode can greatly activate the sodium storage performance.