A sodium-aluminum hybrid battery

Xiao Guang Sun, Zhizhen Zhang, Hong Yu Guan, Craig A. Bridges, Youxing Fang, Yong Sheng Hu, Gabriel M. Veith, Sheng Dai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Novel hybrid batteries are fabricated using an aluminum anode, a sodium intercalation cathode Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP), and a sodium/aluminum dual salt electrolyte based on NaAlCl4 and an eutectic mixture of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMImC) and aluminum chloride. Cyclic voltammograms indicate that increasing the molar concentration of AlCl3 in the electrolyte is beneficial to high coulombic efficiency of aluminum deposition/stripping, which, unfortunately, results in lower coulombic efficiency of sodium extraction/insertion in the cathode. Therefore, EMImC-AlCl3 with a molar ratio of 1-1.1 is used for battery evaluation. The hybrid battery with 1.0 M NaAlCl4 exhibits a discharge voltage of 1.25 V and a cathodic capacity of 99 mA h g−1 at a current rate of C/10. In addition, the hybrid battery exhibits good rate performance and long-term cycling stability while maintaining a high coulombic efficiency of 98%. It is also demonstrated that increasing salt concentration can further enhance the cycling performance of the hybrid battery. X-ray diffraction analysis of the NVP electrodes under different conditions confirms that the main cathode reaction is indeed Na extraction/insertion. Based on all earth-abundant elements, the new Na-Al hybrid battery is very attractive for stationary and grid energy storage applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6589-6596
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume5
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Funding

This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division under contract number DE-AC05-00OR22725

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