A Novel Sodium-Ion Batteries: Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Sodium Rhodizonate Cathodes

Abstract

Several studies have emerged that seek to solve the energy deficit that we face as a society, where energy storage plays an important role. In this regard, Ion-Sodium batteries (Ion-Na) represent an excellent alternative to the Ion-Li batteries currently on the market. These new Ion-Na batteries have adequate charge densities and at a lower cost. Taking this issue into account, there is great interest in studying the composition, structure, and morphology of cathodes as active materials to optimize this type of battery. [i],[ii] .In this study, the synthesis and characterization of sodium rhodizonate nanostructures to be used as cathode material in Sodium-ion batteries was carried out. In a first stage, a two-level factorial design was used as an exploratory stage to evaluate the statistical significance of the variables involved in the synthesis: i) temperature, ii) reaction time, iii) molar ratio of precursors, and iv) addition time. The nanostructuring of the sodium rhodizonate crystals was carried out by the ultrasonic crystallization method and was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical characterization was performed using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles, and cyclability. The results show that the nanostructuring of the material causes an increase in the storage capacity of sodium ions in the sodiation/desodiation process. This shows a strong size-dependence in the Na + ion intercalation process. Finally, these results will allow the generation of causal relationships that lead to the optimization of the electronic properties of alternative Na-ion batteries. [i] Minah Lee, Jihyun Hong, Jeffrey Lopez, Yongming Sun, Dawei Feng, Kipil Lim, William C. Chueh, Michael F. Toney, Yi Cui & Zhenan Bao. Nature Energy, volume 2, pages 861–868 (2017). [ii] R.-E. Dinnebier, H. Nuss, M. Jansen, Disodium rhodizonate: a powder diffraction study, Acta Crystallographica E61 (2005) m2148–m2150.