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SUMMARY:Composite electrodes for sodium-ion batteries – are two phases b
 etter than one? - Professor Robert A. Armstrong - Principal Research Fello
 w\, School of Chemistry - University of St Andrews
DTSTART:20260127T140000Z
DTEND:20260127T150000Z
UID:TALK242932@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sharon Connor
DESCRIPTION:The development of high-performance electrode materials is ess
 ential to the successful commercialisation of sodium-ion batteries. Among 
 positive electrodes sodium layered oxides\, NaxTMO2\, demonstrate high ene
 rgy densities and versatile chemistry and crystal structures (typically P2
  or O3). P2-type oxides generally show excellent high-rate and cycling per
 formance\, but low Na content (x < 0.7) limits the full cell energy densit
 y. O3-type materials show high initial Na content (0.8 < x < 1) but suffer
  from poor rate capability and cycling stability. Recent work on the less-
 studied P3 phase has shown that Na contents approaching those of O3 are po
 ssible whilst delivering good rate performance. In this work\, by forming 
 composites of the different polymorphs\, we combine high initial Na conten
 ts with P2-type cycling behaviour by tuning the synthesis conditions. The 
 resulting series of materials displays high energy densities and cycling s
 tabilities. Thorough structural and electrochemical characterisation revea
 ls the relationship between chemical composition\, crystal structure and t
 he resulting electrochemical performance\, providing critical insights for
  the rational design of high-performance positive electrode materials.\nIn
  the case of negative electrodes\, organic compounds or solids with organi
 c backbones have shown immense promise as sustainable electrode materials\
 , as they are composed of naturally abundant elements\, can be functionali
 zed\, and their electrochemistry is versatile. However\, they are limited 
 by poor electronic conductivity. Here we demonstrate\, by forming a compos
 ite with commercial hard carbon\, that it is possible to overcome this lim
 itation while retaining the superior rate performance compared with the ca
 rbon alone.\n
LOCATION:Dept of Chemistry\, Wolfson Lecture Theatre 
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