Transition Metal-Doped SnO2 As Versatile Battery Electrode Material

Abstract

Tin oxide-based materials have been intensively investigated as alternative anodes for lithium-ion batteries due to their high specific capacity, environmental friendliness, non-toxicity, and ease of handling. However, the initial formation of Li2O upon lithiation is essentially irreversible, which has a severe effect on the first cycle Coulombic efficiency and the reversibly achievable capacity in general.[1]It has been shown that the incorporation of transition metal dopants can address this issue, as it enables the reversible formation and reformation of Li2O.[2] The choice of the dopant, however, plays a critical role for the long-term cycling stability, rate capability, and eventual energy density of the resulting lithium-ion cells.[3] While there have been intensive studies published already on the effect of different dopants for Li-ion battery applications, targeting an optimized combination for achieving enhanced cycling performance[3] and an in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism,[4,5] the investigation as Na-ion battery active material has not been reported so far. In fact, our results show that the reaction mechanism is fundamentally different, while the incorporation of transition metal dopants is still favorable for the eventual charge storage via sodium cations. The resulting insights into the de-/sodiation mechanism are anticipated to enable the development of further enhanced electrode active materials for sodium-ion batteries and, thus, support the recent success of this alternative battery technology. Reference s [1] D. Bresser, S. Passerini, B. Scrosati, Energy Environ. Sci. 2016, 9, 3348.[2] Y. Ma, Y. Ma, G. Giuli, T. Diemant, R. J. Behm, D. Geiger, U. Kaiser, U. Ulissi, S. Passerini, D. Bresser, Sustain. Energy Fuels 2018, 2, 2601.[3] A. Birrozzi, J. Asenbauer, T. E. Ashton, A. R. Groves, D. Geiger, U. Kaiser, J. A. Darr, D. Bresser, Batter. Supercaps 2020, 3, 284.[4] J. Asenbauer, A. Wirsching, M. Lang, S. Indris, T. Eisenmann, A. Mullaliu, A. Birrozzi, A. Hoefling, D. Geiger, U. Kaiser, R. Schuster, D. Bresser, Adv. Sustain. Syst. 2022, 6, 2200102.[5] A. Birrozzi, A. Mullaliu, T. Eisenmann, J. Asenbauer, T. Diemant, D. Geiger, U. Kaiser, D. Oliveira de Souza, T. E. Ashton, A. R. Groves, J. A. Darr, S. Passerini, D. Bresser, Inorganics 2022, 10, 46.