Chapter 8 - Oxides free materials as anodes for sodium-ion batteries

Abstract

Due to the high energy demand, the finding of renewable energy resources is of great interest in the worldwide research community. Lithium-ion batteries were a better choice to fulfill these energy demand markets in recent years. However, sodium batteries (SIBs) are the best alternative energy storage system due to the high abundance in global earth crust compared to lithium. Therefore, the SIBs development has been boosted in recent years. A fundamental understanding of designing an electrode material, especially in oxide-free anode materials, has been challenging in SIBs technology. Carbon-based materials can be considered a low-cost and high abundant material to fabricate the SIBs anode in a commercial application. The carbon-based anode can provide high specific capacity and good cycling ability due to its high electron transport properties. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have also been chosen as oxide-free anode materials owing to their cost-effectiveness and high theoretical capacity. However, the significant volume change and structural instability can influence the SIBs system’s lifespan, opening up the way to construct hybrid materials using these TMDs and TMPs with carbon-related materials. This chapter describes clear information about the progress on anode materials development and the importance of carbon nanostructured materials and its oxide-free composite anode to enhance the electrochemical features of SIBs. The incorporation of carbon nanostructured materials can accommodate the volume change of TMDs and TMPs and promote the reaction kinetics and the long-lasting electron transport for the improvement in the life of the SIBs storage system.