Tailoring sodium intercalation in graphite for high energy and power sodium ion batteries

Abstract

Co-intercalation reactions make graphite as promising anodes for sodium ion batteries, however, the high redox potentials significantly lower the energy density. Herein, we investigate the factors that influence the co-intercalation potential of graphite and find that the tuning of the voltage as large as 0.38 V is achievable by adjusting the relative stability of ternary graphite intercalation compounds and the solvent activity in electrolytes. The feasibility of graphite anode in sodium ion batteries is confirmed in conjunction with Na_1.5VPO_4.8F_0.7 cathodes by using the optimal electrolyte. The sodium ion battery delivers an improved voltage of 3.1 V, a high power density of 3863 W kg⁻¹_{both electrodes}, negligible temperature dependency of energy/power densities and an extremely low capacity fading rate of 0.007% per cycle over 1000 cycles, which are among the best thus far reported for sodium ion full cells, making it a competitive choice in large-scale energy storage systems.