New material promises advances in sodium-ion battery performance

Education
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Renu Khator President | University of Houston

Researchers have unveiled a promising new material for sodium-ion batteries, potentially advancing the future of sustainable energy. The team, which includes scientists from the Canepa Research Laboratory at the University of Houston, has developed sodium vanadium phosphate (NaxV2(PO4)3), a material that enhances battery performance by increasing energy density by over 15%. This innovation brings sodium-ion technology closer to competing with traditional lithium-ion batteries.

"Sodium is nearly 50 times cheaper than lithium and can even be harvested from seawater, making it a much more sustainable option for large-scale energy storage," said Pieremanuele Canepa, lead researcher of the Canepa Lab. "Sodium-ion batteries could be cheaper and easier to produce, helping reduce reliance on lithium and making battery technology more accessible worldwide."

The Canepa Lab collaborated with French researchers Christian Masquelier and Laurence Croguennec for experimental validation. The project demonstrated significant improvements in energy storage using NaxV2(PO4)3. This material allows sodium ions to move smoothly during charging and discharging while maintaining stability as a single-phase system. It delivers a continuous voltage of 3.7 volts versus sodium metal, higher than existing materials.

"The continuous voltage change is a key feature," noted Canepa. "It means the battery can perform more efficiently without compromising electrode stability. That’s a game-changer for sodium-ion technology."

The implications extend beyond this specific application. The synthesis method used could apply to other materials with similar chemistries, opening doors for advanced energy storage technologies.

"Our goal is to find clean, sustainable solutions for energy storage," added Canepa. "This material shows that sodium-ion batteries can meet the high-energy demands of modern technology while being cost-effective and environmentally friendly."

A paper detailing this research was published in Nature Materials. Contributors include Ziliang Wang from Northwestern University and Sunkyu Park from Samsung SDI.