Journal Home > Online First
Nano Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-024-6588-3
Research Article | Online first | Published: 03 April 2024

Enhancing the electrochemical performance of Na metal anodes via local eutectic melting in porous Al-Cu alloy hosts

Show Author's Information Tao Hu1,  Qiang Wu1,  Cheng Wang1,  Jialu Chen1,  Fu Su1,  Zibo Chen1,  Yizhou Wang2,  Jianyu Chen1( ),  Yanwen Ma1,3( ),  Jin Zhao1( )
State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
Materials Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Suzhou Vocational Institute of Industrial Technology, 1 Zhineng Avenue, Suzhou International Education Park, Suzhou 215104, China
Keywords:
Na metal anode, porous Al-Cu alloy, porous current collector, local eutectic melting
Topics:
Electric energy storageEnergy storageIon batteries
Cite this article:
Hu T, Wu Q, Wang C, et al. Enhancing the electrochemical performance of Na metal anodes via local eutectic melting in porous Al-Cu alloy hosts. Nano Research, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-024-6588-3
Download citation
EndNote(RIS)
BibTeX

313

Views

49

Downloads

Citations

0

Crossref

0

WoS

0

Scopus

0

CSCD

Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Sodium (Na) metal batteries (SMBs) have emerged as promising alternatives to lithium metal batteries for large-scale energy storage applications, owing to their cost-effectiveness, abundance, and favorable redox potential. However, the practical implementation of SMBs faces several challenges associated with the Na metal anode, including the formation of dendrites, low Coulombic efficiency, and capacity fading. Here, we propose a novel approach to enhance the electrochemical performance of Na metal anodes through a porous Al-Cu alloy host (PAC) fabricated by a local eutectic melting engineering. The local eutectic melting facilitates the development of a conductive network, offering mechanical support, and the porous structure provides abundant channels for the diffusion of Na ions and accommodates volume fluctuations in the Na metal during charge–discharge cycling. Moreover, the PAC exhibits a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at 1 mA·cm−2 for 1 mAh·cm−2 and a low voltage polarization of 19 mV during 500 cycles. This study provides valuable insight into the design and fabrication of high-performance Na metal anodes, which hold significant promise for the advancements of next-generation energy storage systems.


menu
Abstract
Full text
Outline
Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Enhancing the electrochemical performance of Na metal anodes via local eutectic melting in porous Al-Cu alloy hosts

Show Author's information Tao Hu1, Qiang Wu1, Cheng Wang1, Jialu Chen1, Fu Su1, Zibo Chen1, Yizhou Wang2, Jianyu Chen1( ), Yanwen Ma1,3( ), Jin Zhao1( )
State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
Materials Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Suzhou Vocational Institute of Industrial Technology, 1 Zhineng Avenue, Suzhou International Education Park, Suzhou 215104, China

Abstract

Sodium (Na) metal batteries (SMBs) have emerged as promising alternatives to lithium metal batteries for large-scale energy storage applications, owing to their cost-effectiveness, abundance, and favorable redox potential. However, the practical implementation of SMBs faces several challenges associated with the Na metal anode, including the formation of dendrites, low Coulombic efficiency, and capacity fading. Here, we propose a novel approach to enhance the electrochemical performance of Na metal anodes through a porous Al-Cu alloy host (PAC) fabricated by a local eutectic melting engineering. The local eutectic melting facilitates the development of a conductive network, offering mechanical support, and the porous structure provides abundant channels for the diffusion of Na ions and accommodates volume fluctuations in the Na metal during charge–discharge cycling. Moreover, the PAC exhibits a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at 1 mA·cm−2 for 1 mAh·cm−2 and a low voltage polarization of 19 mV during 500 cycles. This study provides valuable insight into the design and fabrication of high-performance Na metal anodes, which hold significant promise for the advancements of next-generation energy storage systems.

Keywords: Na metal anode, porous Al-Cu alloy, porous current collector, local eutectic melting

References(51)

[1]

Xia, Y. C.; Zhou, P.; Kong, X.; Tian, J. K.; Zhang, W. L.; Yan, S. S.; Hou, W. H.; Zhou, H. Y.; Dong, H.; Chen, X. X. et al. Designing an asymmetric ether-like lithium salt to enable fast-cycling high-energy lithium metal batteries. Nat. Energy 2023, 8, 934–945.
DOI Google Scholar
[2]

Zhuang, R.; Zhang, X. H.; Qu, C. Z.; Xu, X. S.; Yang, J. Y.; Ye, Q.; Liu, Z.; Kaskel, S.; Xu, F.; Wang, H. Q. Fluorinated porous frameworks enable robust anode-less sodium metal batteries. Sci. Adv. 2023, 9, eadh8060.
DOI Google Scholar
[3]

Xie, Y. Y.; Liu, C. Y.; Zheng, J. Q.; Li, H. X.; Zhang, L. Y.; Zhang, Z. A. NaF-rich protective layer on PTFE coating microcrystalline graphite for highly stable Na metal anodes. Nano Res. 2023, 16, 2436–2444.
DOI Google Scholar
[4]

Yi, X. H.; Feng, Y. H.; Rao, A. M.; Zhou, J.; Wang, C. X.; Lu, B. G. Quasi-solid aqueous electrolytes for low-cost sustainable alkali-metal batteries. Adv. Mater. 2023, 35, 2302280.
DOI Google Scholar
[5]

Chen, J. Y.; Wang, Y. Z.; Li, S. J.; Chen, H. R.; Qiao, X.; Zhao, J.; Ma, Y. W.; Alshareef, H. N. Porous metal current collectors for alkali metal batteries. Adv. Sci. 2023, 10, 2205695.
DOI Google Scholar
[6]

Chen, J. Y.; Xu, X.; He, Q.; Ma, Y. W. Advanced current collectors for alkali metal anodes. Chem. Res. Chin. Univ. 2020, 36, 386–401.
DOI Google Scholar
[7]

Zhang, L. J.; Zhang, T. T.; Zhao, Y. L.; Dong, G. F.; Lv, S. K.; Ma, S. L.; Song, S. X.; Quintana, M. Doping engineering of lithium-aluminum layered double hydroxides for high-efficiency lithium extraction from salt lake brines. Nano Res. 2024, 17, 1646–1654.
DOI Google Scholar
[8]

Parameswaran, A. K.; Azadmanjiri, J.; Palaniyandy, N.; Pal, B.; Palaniswami, S.; Dekanovsky, L.; Wu, B.; Sofer, Z. Recent progress of nanotechnology in the research framework of all-solid-state batteries. Nano Energy 2023, 105, 107994.
DOI Google Scholar
[9]

Zhang, W.; Yang, X. K.; Wang, J. C.; Zheng, J. L.; Yue, K.; Liu, T. F.; Wang, Y.; Nai, J. W.; Liu, Y. J.; Tao, X. Y. Rapidly constructing sodium fluoride-rich interface by pressure and diglyme-induced defluorination reaction for stable sodium metal anode. Small 2023, 19, 2207540.
DOI Google Scholar
[10]

Soni, C. B.; Bera, S.; Sungjemmenla; Vineeth, S. K.; Kumar, H.; Kumar, V. Novel organic molecule enabling a highly-stable and reversible sodium metal anode for room-temperature sodium-metal batteries. J. Energy Stor. 2023, 71, 108132.
DOI Google Scholar
[11]

Moorthy, M.; Moorthy, B.; Ganesan, B. K.; Saha, A.; Yu, S.; Kim, D. H.; Hong, S.; Park, S.; Kang, K.; Thangavel, R. et al. A series of hybrid multifunctional interfaces as artificial SEI layer for realizing dendrite free, and long-life sodium metal anodes. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023, 33, 2300135.
DOI Google Scholar
[12]

Lin, X. T.; Sun, Q.; Kim, J. T.; Li, X. F.; Zhang, J. J.; Sun, X. L. Superoxide-based Na-O2 batteries: Background, current status and future prospects. Nano Energy 2023, 112, 108466.
DOI Google Scholar
[13]

Hu, B.; Xu, J.; Fan, Z. J.; Xu, C.; Han, S. C.; Zhang, J. X.; Ma, L. B.; Ding, B.; Zhuang, Z. C.; Kang, Q. et al. Covalent organic framework based lithium-sulfur batteries: materials, interfaces, and solid-state electrolytes. Adv. Energy Mater. 2023, 13, 2203540.
DOI Google Scholar
[14]

Qiu, Y. S.; Xu, J. Challenges and prospects for room temperature solid-state sodium-sulfur batteries. Nano Res. 2024, 17, 1402–1426.
DOI Google Scholar
[15]

Xu, C. F.; Dong, Y. L.; Shen, Y. L.; Zhao, H. P.; Li, L. Q.; Shao, G. S.; Lei, Y. Fundamental understanding of nonaqueous and hybrid Na-CO2 batteries: Challenges and perspectives. Small 2023, 19, 2206445.
DOI Google Scholar
[16]

Wang, H.; Bai, W. L.; Wang, H.; Kong, D. Z.; Xu, T. T.; Zhang, Z. F.; Zang, J. H.; Wang, X. C.; Zhang, S.; Tian, Y. T. et al. 3D printed Au/rGO microlattice host for dendrite-free sodium metal anode. Energy Stor. Mater. 2023, 55, 631–641.
DOI Google Scholar
[17]

Huang, B. C.; Sun, S. X.; Wan, J.; Zhang, W.; Liu, S. Y.; Zhang, J. W.; Yan, F. Y.; Liu, Y.; Xu, J.; Cheng, F. Y. et al. Ultrahigh nitrogen content carbon nanosheets for high stable sodium metal anodes. Adv. Sci. 2023, 10, 2206845.
DOI Google Scholar
[18]

Li, S. J.; Chen, J. Y.; Liu, G. Y.; Wu, H. B.; Chen, H. R.; Li, M. S.; Shi, L.; Wang, Y. Z.; Ma, Y. W.; Zhao, J. Ultralight porous Cu nanowire aerogels as stable hosts for high Li-content metal anodes. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 56697–56706.
DOI Google Scholar
[19]

Cai, Z. J.; Tang, F.; Yang, Y.; Xu, S. T.; Xu, C.; Liu, L.; Rui, X. H. A multifunctional super-sodiophilic coating on aluminum current collector for high-performance anode-free Na-metal batteries. Nano Energy 2023, 116, 108814.
DOI Google Scholar
[20]

Xu, J.; Yang, J. H.; Qiu, Y. S.; Jin, Y.; Wang, T. Y.; Sun, B.; Wang, G. X. Achieving high-performance sodium metal anodes: From structural design to reaction kinetic improvement. Nano Res. 2024, 17, 1288–1312.
DOI Google Scholar
[21]

Lu, G. X.; Nai, J. W.; Luan, D. Y.; Tao, X. Y.; Lou, X. W. Surface engineering toward stable lithium metal anodes. Sci. Adv. 2023, 9, eadf1550.
DOI Google Scholar
[22]

Wang, C. Z.; Zheng, Y.; Chen, Z. N.; Zhang, R. R.; He, W.; Li, K. X.; Yan, S.; Cui, J. Q.; Fang, X. L.; Yan, J. W. et al. Robust anode-free sodium metal batteries enabled by artificial sodium formate interface. Adv. Energy Mater. 2023, 13, 2204125.
DOI Google Scholar
[23]

Xia, X. M.; Yang, Y.; Chen, K. Z.; Xu, S. T.; Tang, F.; Liu, L.; Xu, C.; Rui, X. H. Enhancing interfacial strength and wettability for wide-temperature sodium metal batteries. Small 2023, 19, 2300907.
DOI Google Scholar
[24]

Wang, C. Z.; Wu, K. H.; Cui, J. Q.; Fang, X. L.; Li, J.; Zheng, N. F. Robust room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries enabled by a sandwich-structured MXene@ C/Polyolefin/MXene@C dual-functional separator. Small 2022, 18, 2106983.
DOI Google Scholar
[25]

Kang, Q.; Li, Y.; Zhuang, Z. C.; Wang, D. S.; Zhi, C. Y.; Jiang, P. K.; Huang, X. Y. Dielectric polymer based electrolytes for high-performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. J. Energy Chem. 2022, 69, 194–204.
DOI Google Scholar
[26]

Kang, Q.; Zhuang, Z. C; Liu, Y. J.; Liu, Z. H.; Li, Y.; Sun, B.; Pei, F.; Zhu, H.; Li, H. F.; Li, P. L. et al. Engineering the structural uniformity of gel polymer electrolytes via pattern-guided alignment for durable, safe solid-state lithium metal batteries. Adv. Mater. 2023, 35, 2303460.
DOI Google Scholar
[27]

Yuan, C. B.; Li, R.; Zhan, X. W.; Sprenkle, V. L.; Li, G. S. Stabilizing metallic Na anodes via sodiophilicity regulation: A review. Materials 2022, 15, 4636.
DOI Google Scholar
[28]

Zhao, W. Y.; Guo, M.; Zuo, Z. J.; Zhao, X. L.; Dou, H. L.; Zhang, Y. J.; Li, S. Y.; Wu, Z. C.; Shi, Y. Y.; Ma, Z. F. et al. Engineering sodium metal anode with sodiophilic bismuthide penetration for dendrite-free and high-rate sodium-ion battery. Engineering 2022, 11, 87–94.
DOI Google Scholar
[29]

Chen, J. Y.; Wang, Y. Z.; Tian, Z. N.; Zhao, J.; Ma, Y. W.; Alshareef, H. N. Recent developments in three-dimensional Zn metal anodes for battery applications. InfoMat 2024, 6, e12485.
DOI Google Scholar
[30]

Chen, J. Y.; Qiao, X.; Fu, W.; Han, X. R.; Wu, Q.; Wang, Y. Z.; Zhang, Y.; Shi, L.; Zhao, J.; Ma, Y. W. Lithiophilic hyperbranched Cu nanostructure for stable Li metal anodes. SmartMat 2023, 4, e1174.
DOI Google Scholar
[31]

Luo, Y.; Yang, X. F.; Wang, C. H.; Fraser, A.; Zhang, H. Z.; Sun, X. L.; Li, X. F. Advanced metal anodes and their interface design toward safe metal batteries: A comprehensive review. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2023, 139, 101171.
DOI Google Scholar
[32]
Chen, C.; Yao, W. J.; Tang, Y. B. Emerging solutions to enable the efficient use of sodium metal anodes: Progress and perspectives. Adv. Funct. Mater., in press, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202310833.
DOI
[33]

Wang, Z. X.; Huang, Z. X.; Wang, H.; Li, W. D.; Wang, B. Y.; Xu, J. M.; Xu, T. T.; Zang, J. H.; Kong, D. Z.; Li, X. J. et al. 3D-printed sodiophilic V2CT x /rGO-CNT MXene microgrid aerogel for stable Na metal anode with high areal capacity. ACS Nano 2022, 16, 9105–9116.
DOI Google Scholar
[34]

Li, Z. P.; Zhu, K. J.; Liu, P.; Jiao, L. F. 3D confinement strategy for dendrite-free sodium metal batteries. Adv. Energy Mater. 2022, 12, 2100359.
DOI Google Scholar
[35]

Chi, S. S.; Qi, X. G.; Hu, Y. S.; Fan, L. Z. 3D flexible carbon felt host for highly stable sodium metal anodes. Adv. Energy Mater. 2018, 8, 1702764.
DOI Google Scholar
[36]

Sun, B.; Xiong, P.; Maitra, U.; Langsdorf, D.; Yan, K.; Wang, C. Y.; Janek, J.; Schröder, D.; Wang, G. X. Design strategies to enable the efficient use of sodium metal anodes in high-energy batteries. Adv. Mater. 2020, 32, 1903891.
DOI Google Scholar
[37]

Zhang, J. L.; Wang, W. H.; Shi, R. Y.; Wang, W.; Wang, S. W.; Kang, F. Y.; Li, B. H. Three-dimensional carbon felt host for stable sodium metal anode. Carbon 2019, 155, 50–55.
DOI Google Scholar
[38]

Liu, S.; Tang, S.; Zhang, X. Y.; Wang, A. X.; Yang, Q. H.; Luo, J. Y. Porous Al current collector for dendrite-free Na metal anodes. Nano Lett. 2017, 17, 5862–5868.
DOI Google Scholar
[39]

Kim, S. Y.; Park, J. S.; Nakajima, H. Fabrication of lotus-type porous aluminum through thermal decomposition method. Metall. Mater. Trans. A 2009, 40, 937–942.
DOI Google Scholar
[40]
Asholt, P. Aluminium foam produced by the melt foaming route process, properties and applications. In Proceedings of International Conference on Metal Foam and Porous Metal Structures, 1999, pp 133–140.
[41]

Hangai, Y.; Utsunomiya, T. Fabrication of porous aluminum by friction stir processing. Metall. Mater. Trans. A 2009, 40, 275–277.
DOI Google Scholar
[42]

Xie, Z. K.; Yamada, Y.; Banno, T. Fabrication of micro porous aluminum by powder sintering. Mater. Sci. Forum 2007, 539–543, 2778–2781.
DOI Google Scholar
[43]

Yasuda, H.; Ohnaka, I.; Fujimoto, S.; Takezawa, N.; Tsuchiyama, A.; Nakano, T.; Uesugi, K. Fabrication of aligned pores in aluminum by electrochemical dissolution of monotectic alloys solidified under a magnetic field. Scr. Mater. 2006, 54, 527–532.
DOI Google Scholar
[44]

Wang, Y. Y.; Wang, Z. J.; Lei, D. N.; Lv, W.; Zhao, Q.; Ni, B.; Liu, Y.; Li, B. H.; Kang, F. Y.; He, Y. B. Spherical Li deposited inside 3D Cu skeleton as anode with ultrastable performance. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 10, 20244–20249.
DOI Google Scholar
[45]

Chen, J. Y.; Li, S. J.; Qiao, X.; Wang, Y. Z.; Lei, L. N.; Lyu, Z.; Zhao, J.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, R. Q.; Liang, Q. H. et al. Integrated porous Cu host induced high-stable bidirectional Li plating/stripping behavior for practical Li metal batteries. Small 2022, 18, 2105999.
DOI Google Scholar
[46]

Chen, J. Y.; Zhao, J.; Lei, L. N.; Li, P.; Chen, J.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, Y. Z.; Ma, Y. W.; Wang, D. Dynamic intelligent Cu current collectors for ultrastable lithium metal anodes. Nano Lett. 2020, 20, 3403–3410.
DOI Google Scholar
[47]

Kehl, W.; Fischmeister, H. F. Liquid Phase Sintering of Al-Cu Compacts. Powder Metall. 1980, 23, 113–119.
DOI Google Scholar
[48]

Deng, Z. H.; Yin, H. Q.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, G. F.; Zhang, T.; Liu, Z. K.; Wang, H. B.; Qu, X. H. Sintering mechanism of Cu-9Al alloy prepared from elemental powders. Prog. Nat. Sci.: Mater. Int. 2019, 29, 425–431.
DOI Google Scholar
[49]

Wang, S. H.; Yin, Y. X.; Zuo, T. T.; Dong, W.; Li, J. Y.; Shi, J. L.; Zhang, C. H.; Li, N. W.; Li, C. J.; Guo, Y. G. Stable Li metal anodes via regulating lithium plating/stripping in vertically aligned microchannels. Adv. Mater. 2017, 29, 1703729.
DOI Google Scholar
[50]

Cao, Q. H.; Gao, Y.; Pu, J.; Zhao, X.; Wang, Y. X.; Chen, J. P.; Guan, C. Gradient design of imprinted anode for stable Zn-ion batteries. Nat. Commun. 2023, 14, 641.
DOI Google Scholar
[51]

Wu, J. Y.; Ju, Z. Y.; Zhang, X.; Marschilok, A. C.; Takeuchi, K. J.; Wang, H. L.; Takeuchi, E. S.; Yu, G. H. Gradient design for high-energy and high-power batteries. Adv. Mater. 2022, 34, 2202780.
DOI Google Scholar
File
6588_ESM.pdf (1.8 MB)
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 23 January 2024
Revised: 24 February 2024
Accepted: 25 February 2024
Published: 03 April 2024

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2024

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52102265, 91963119, and 22201135), Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Nos. BK20210604, BK20220385, and BK20230368), Natural Science Research Start-up Foundation of Recruiting Talents of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Nos. NY223099, NY223054, and NY222094), the Project of State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Nos. GDX2022010010 and GZR2022010017), and the Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM).

Return