New metal alloy electrode designed for plus-sized ions
Tin, antimony, and carbon material increases sodium battery's capacity
Thanks to fundamental research, including detailed microscopy analysis at EMSL, sodium-ion batteries could be part of storing energy from wind farms and releasing that electricity on demand.
Storing energy from wind farms and releasing that electricity on demand requires high-capacity, low-cost batteries; sodium-ion batteries could be part of the answer now, thanks to fundamental insights. Based on transmission electron microscopy work at EMSL and other examinations, a PNNL research team studied a new electrode or anode built from a tin and antimony alloy, with specially designed carbon support. This durable new material can store nearly twice as much energy as a carbon electrode in the popular lithium-ion battery. Balancing battery cost and capacity could be vital to implementing large-scale energy storage systems. Lithium-ion batteries, used in laptop computers and electric cars, are still too expensive. Sodium-ion batteries require less expensive materials, but they don't have enough capacity, and the anode collapses when it releases the larger sodium ions during discharge. The new alloy from PNNL could be vital to creating a durable, high-capacity anode.
Read the full story from PNNL’s Fundamental & Computational Sciences Directorate.
Reference: L Xiao, Y Cao, J Xiao, W Wang, L Kovarik, Z Nie, and J Liu. 2012. "High Capacity, Reversible Alloying Reactions in SnSb/C Nanocomposites for Na-Ion Battery Applications." Chemical Communications 48, 3321-3323. DOI: 10.1039/C2CC17129E
Released: April 19, 2012
