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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2

Sustainable layered cathode with suppressed phase transition for long-life sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are among the most promising alternatives to lithium-based technologies for grid and other energy storage applications due to their cost benefits and sustainable resource supply. For the cathode—the component that largely determines the energy density of a sodium-ion battery cell—one major category of materials is P2-type layered oxides. Unfortunately, at high state-of-charge, such materials tend to undergo a phase transition with a very large volume change and consequent structural degradation during long-term cycling. Here we address this issue by introducing vacancies into the transition metal layer of P2-Na$_{0.7}$Fe$_{0.1}$Mn$_{0.75\square}$$_{0.15}$O2 (‘$_{\square}$’ represents a vacancy). The transition metal vacancy serves to suppress migration of neighbouring Na ions and therefore maintain structural and thermal stability in Na-depleted states. Moreover, the specific Na-O-$_{\square}$ configuration triggers a reversible anionic redox reaction and boosts the energy density. As a result, the cathode design here enables pouch cells with energy densities of 170 Wh kg -1 and 120 Wh kg -1 that can operate for over 600 and 1,000 cycles, respectively. In conclusion, our work not only suggests a feasible strategy for cathode design but also confirms the possibility of developing a battery chemistry that features a reduced need for critical raw materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Long‐Life Lithium‐Metal Batteries with an Ultra‐High‐Nickel Cathode and Electrolytes with Bi‐Anion Activity

Abstract Anion chemistry in electrolytes can greatly dictate the nature and quality of passivation layers on both cathode and anode surfaces. This will be more significant when it comes to highly reactive Li‐metal anode and aggressive high‐nickel cathodes. Herein, a competitive bi‐anion activity is found in electrolytes with the co‐existence of two anions, which leads to a controlled Li‐salt decomposition kinetics and entirely favorable interphasial chemistry on both Li‐metal anode and ultrahigh‐nickel cathode. The proposed bi‐anion localized high‐concentration electrolytes are demonstrated to exhibit superior electrochemical compatibility toward Li metal and long‐term cycling stabilities under both 4.4 and 4.6 V in Li‐metal batteries with ultrahigh‐nickel cathode. This study sheds fresh light on dendrite‐free Li‐metal anodes and provides guidance to achieve high‐energy‐density batteries.

Chemistry↗

A Self-Healable Sulfide/Polymer Composite Electrolyte for Long-Life, Low-Lithium-Excess Lithium-Metal Batteries

Solid electrolyte-protected lithium-metal anodes promise energy-dense, safe cells. While sulfide solid electrolytes enable facile processability and fast ion transport, they suffer from complex chemo-mechanical issues, including Li plating-induced fracture and Li stripping-induced contact loss. To address these issues, a grafting approach is implemented to functionalize the sulfide solid electrolyte (Li 3,85 Sn 0.85 Sb 0.15 S 4 ) with a self-healing unit. This leads to a dynamic bonding between the solid electrolyte network and a mechanically robust polymer scaffold, which reversibly accommodates the volume changes of the lithium-metal anode. Thus, the approach improves the interfacial contact between the lithium-metal anode and the composite electrolyte, enabling stable cycling at a mild stack pressure (160 kPa). With a negative to positive capacity ratio equals to 1, pouch full cells with a high-nickel cathode (nickel content > 90%) and lithium-metal anode display 92% capacity retention for 140 cycles. Engineering the interface between solid electrolyte and the polymeric binder offers a promising pathway to address the chemo-mechanical issues.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High-Performance, Long-Life, Rechargeable Li–CO 2 Batteries based on a 3D Holey Graphene Cathode Implanted with Single Iron Atoms

A highly efficient cathode catalyst for rechargeable Li-CO 2 batteries is successfully synthesized by implanting single iron atoms into 3D porous carbon architectures, consisting of interconnected N,S-codoped holey graphene (HG) sheets. The unique porous 3D hierarchical architecture of the catalyst with a large surface area and sufficient space within the interconnected HG framework can not only facilitate electron transport and CO 2 /Li+ diffusion, but also allow for a high uptake of Li 2 CO 3 to ensure a high capacity. Consequently, the resultant rechargeable Li-CO 2 batteries exhibit a low potential gap of approximate to 1.17 V at 100 mA g -1 and can be repeatedly charged and discharged for over 200 cycles with a cut-off capacity of 1000 mAh g -1 at a high current density of 1 A g -1 . Density functional theory calculations are performed and the observed appealing catalytic performance is correlated with the hierarchical structure of the carbon catalyst. This work provides an effective approach to the development of highly efficient cathode catalysts for metal-CO 2 batteries and beyond.

(2) batteries↗

Ultrahigh-Rate and Long-Life Zinc–Metal Anodes Enabled by Self-Accelerated Cation Migration

Aqueous zinc ion batteries are receiving unprecedented attention owing to their markedly high safety and sustainability, yet their lifespan particularly at high rates is largely limited by the poor reversibility of zinc (Zn) metal anodes, due to the random ion diffusion and sluggish ion replenishment at reaction interface. In this work, we propose a tunnel-rich and corona-poled ferroelectric thin film coating for Zn metal anode to tackle above conundra. It is demonstrated that the poled ferroelectric coating can better deconcentrate and self-accelerate ion migration at coating/Zn interface upon electroplating process than untreated ferroelectric coating and bare Zn, thus enabling a compact and horizontally-aligned Zn morphology even at ultrahigh rates. Notably, a maximal cumulative plating capacity of over 6500 mAh cm -2 (at 10 mA cm -2 ) is achieved for the surface-modified Zn metal anode, showing extraordinary reversibility of Zn plating/stripping. This work provides new insights in stabilizing Zn metal electrodeposition at the scale of interfacial ion diffusion.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Implanting Transition Metal into Li 2 O-Based Cathode Prelithiation Agent for High-Energy-Density and Long-Life Li-Ion Batteries

Compensating the irreversible loss of limited active lithium (Li) is essentially important for improving the energy-density and cycle-life of practical Li-ion battery full-cell, especially after employing high-capacity but low initial coulombic efficiency anode candidates. Introducing prelithiation agent can provide additional Li source for such compensation. Herein, we precisely implant trace Co (extracted from transition metal oxide) into the Li site of Li 2 O, obtaining (Li 0.66 Co 0.11$\square$0.23 ) 2 O (CLO) cathode prelithiation agent. Further, the synergistic formation of Li vacancies and Co-derived catalysis efficiently enhance the inherent conductivity and weaken the Li-O interaction of Li 2 O, which facilitates its anionic oxidation to peroxo/superoxo species and gaseous O 2 , achieving 1642.7 mAh/g ~Li2O prelithiation capacity (≈980 mAh/g for prelithiation agent). Coupled 6.5 wt % CLO-based prelithiation agent with LiCoO 2 cathode, substantial additional Li source stored within CLO is efficiently released to compensate the Li consumption on the SiO/C anode, achieving 270 Wh/kg pouch-type full-cell with 92 % capacity retention after 1000 cycles.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Molten-Salt Synthesis of O 3 -Type Layered Oxide Single Crystal Cathodes with Controlled Morphology towards Long-Life Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium layered oxides show great promise as affordable alternatives to lithium layered oxides, but their poor cycle life and air stability limit their practical potential. Micron-scale single crystals with greater packing density and lower surface area can overcome these challenges and improve performance compared to the traditional polycrystalline morphology. Herein, the authors present the synthesis of layered O 3 -type Na(Ni 0.3 Fe 0.4 Mn 0.3 )O 2 single-crystals with greatly improved cycle life and air stability. A molten-salt synthesis technique is adopted with excess sodium hydroxide to obtain platelet-like single crystals. Because the main mechanisms of both capacity fade and air degradation occur as a result of surface reactions at the opening of the sodium diffusion channels, particle morphology is found to be a critical metric for materials performance. More important than particle size or total surface area, the smaller proportion of exposed edge planes in the platelet morphology greatly reduces the amount of harmful surface reactions. Furthermore, the molten-salt method is found to eliminate the need for coprecipitated precursors and even form better morphology, starting from metal oxides instead of coprecipitated hydroxides.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Catalytic disproportionation on carbon superstructures enables long-life, high-loading Li–S batteries

Electrocatalysis has been widely explored as an effective strategy to accelerate polysulfide (PS) conversion and suppress the shuttle effect in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive, and electrocatalytic reactions are inactive during cell resting. In this work, we reveal and quantitatively analyze a previously unrecognized sulfur reduction route (SRR) driven by catalytic disproportionation at the carbon cathode surface—fundamentally distinct from conventional electrocatalysis. Unlike conventional stepwise pathways, this SRR enables high-order polysulfides (Sₓ²⁻, x = 5–8) to directly convert into S₈ and Li₂S₂, bypassing low-order intermediates. This sulfur-reduction shortcut is systematically elucidated through high-performance liquid chromatography, revealing the intrinsic catalytic contribution of carbon frameworks and the dynamic evolution of PS species. We demonstrate that carbon superstructures (CSS-0.5), assembled from nanosheet subunits with abundant N/O functionalities and interconnected charge-migration channels, synergistically promote this catalytic process. Benefiting from these features, CSS-0.5 delivers superior electrochemical performance under practical conditions, enabling high sulfur loading (6.0 mg cm⁻²) pouch cells with 80.5% capacity retention over 210 cycles. This study provides the first quantitative evidence of electrocatalytic disproportionation in Li–S batteries, offering mechanistic insights and design principles for advanced sulfur cathodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Toward Long-Life, Ultrahigh-Nickel Layered Oxide Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries: Optimizing the Interphase Chemistry with a Dual-Functional Polymer

Boosting the Ni content in LiMO 2 (M = Ni, Co, Mn, etc.) layered oxides is a promising way to establish high-energydensity, low-cost cathodes, but the poor cathode surface stability is a daunting challenge for their practical viability. Herein, by constructing a dual-functional binder framework with a conductive polymer - polyaniline (PANI), the ultrahigh-Ni layered oxide cathode (LiNi 0.94 Co 0.06 O 2 ) exhibits significantly improved cyclability, with a capacity retention greatly increased from 47% to 81% over 1,000 cycles in full cells. It is demonstrated that the acidic species (e.g. HF) in the electrolyte can be efficiently scavenged through a protonation process of PANI, hence the cathode surface reactivity is greatly suppressed and the rock-salt phase propagation into bulk structure is considerably alleviated. Furthermore, the PANI binder system effectively prevents both the cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) and anode-electrolyte interphase (AEI) from degrading to a thick “triple-layer” architecture upon extensive cycling, resulting in more robust, thinner CEI and AEI with regulated interphasial chemistry. Moreover, the delocalized π-conjugated electrons along the backbone of PANI facilitate fast electron transfer and promote rate capability even at low temperatures (-20 °C). Finally, this work sheds light on rational binder engineering for developing high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries with acceptable cycle life.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

P2-Type Moisture-Stable and High-Voltage-Tolerable Cathodes for High-Energy and Long-Life Sodium-Ion Batteries

P2-Na 0.67 Ni 0.33 Mn 0.67 O 2 represents a promising cathode for Na-ion batteries, but it suffers from severe structural degradation upon storing in a humid atmosphere and cycling at a high cutoff voltage. Here we propose an in situ construction to achieve simultaneous material synthesis and Mg/Sn cosubstitution of Na 0.67 Ni 0.33 Mn 0.67 O 2 via one-pot solid-state sintering. Here, the materials exhibit superior structural reversibility and moisture insensitivity. In-operando XRD reveals an essential correlation between cycling stability and phase reversibility, whereas Mg substitution suppressed the P2–O2 phase transition by forming a new Z phase, and Mg/Sn cosubstitution enhanced the P2–Z transition reversibility benefiting from strong Sn–O bonds. DFT calculations disclosed high chemical tolerance to moisture, as the adsorption energy to H 2 O was lower than that of the pure Na 0.67 Ni 0.33 Mn 0.67 O 2 . A representative Na 0.67 Ni 0.23 Mg 0.1 Mn 0.65 Sn 0.02 O 2 cathode exhibits high reversible capacities of 123 mAh g –1 (10 mA g –1 ), 110 mAh g –1 (200 mA g –1 ), and 100 mAh g –1 (500 mA g –1 ) and a high capacity retention of 80% (500 mA g –1 , 500 cycles).

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Lattice and Local Electronic Structure Modulation Enables Ultra-Long-Life Li-Rich Cathode Materials

Effectively alleviating severe performance deterioration including rapid capacity decay and continuous voltage fading of Li-rich layered oxide (LLO) cathodes by suppressing the irreversible oxygen release and transition metal (TM) migration is a critical challenge during prolonged cycling. Herein, we report a Sb-doped LLO (SLLO) cathode with shortened TM oct –TM oct distance and modulated local electronic structure, which can significantly enhance the oxygen vacancy formation energy and TM migration energy barriers. Therefore, the SLLO cathode showcases an impressive energy density of 1052 Wh kg –1 at 0.2 C and an outstanding rate capability of 214 mAh g –1 at 5 C with a remarkable capacity retention of 79.2% even after 1000 cycles. It should be pointed out that it exhibits greatly enhanced voltage stability with an outstanding voltage retention of 86.2% after cycling 1600 times at 10 C. In conclusion, this work provides a prototype for significantly enhancing the reversibility in electrochemical reactions of high-capacity layered cathode materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Manipulating the diffusion energy barrier at the lithium metal electrolyte interface for dendrite-free long-life batteries

Abstract Constructing an artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on lithium metal electrodes is a promising approach to address the rampant growth of dangerous lithium morphologies (dendritic and dead Li 0 ) and low Coulombic efficiency that plague development of lithium metal batteries, but how Li + transport behavior in the SEI is coupled with mechanical properties remains unknown. We demonstrate here a facile and scalable solution-processed approach to form a Li 3 N-rich SEI with a phase-pure crystalline structure that minimizes the diffusion energy barrier of Li + across the SEI. Compared with a polycrystalline Li 3 N SEI obtained from conventional practice, the phase-pure/single crystalline Li 3 N-rich SEI constitutes an interphase of high mechanical strength and low Li + diffusion barrier. We elucidate the correlation among Li + transference number, diffusion behavior, concentration gradient, and the stability of the lithium metal electrode by integrating phase field simulations with experiments. We demonstrate improved reversibility and charge/discharge cycling behaviors for both symmetric cells and full lithium-metal batteries constructed with this Li 3 N-rich SEI. These studies may cast new insight into the design and engineering of an ideal artificial SEI for stable and high-performance lithium metal batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗