Battery breakthrough. In the United States showed a new type of battery

Researchers have created one of the best sodium-ion batteries, which contains as much energy as the usual lithium-ion battery.

Moreover, it works just like some commercial lithium-ion batteries. According to the team from the Lawrence National Laboratory at Berkeley, is a “serious development” in the field of research of sodium-ion batteries.

“The main problem is that the battery has both a high energy density and a long service life,” – says materials engineer Jonghua Song of the Lawrence National Laboratory at Berkeley.

Currently, lithium-ion batteries have an advantage over sodium-ion batteries: they last longer and contain more energy. One of the reasons is that a large number of potential materials used for the cathode – that part of the battery that receives the current electrons – leads to the destructive accumulation of inactive sodium crystals, ultimately leading to death during energy transfer.

To get around this, scientists specifically designed a layered metal oxide cathode and developed a liquid electrolyte containing additional sodium ions. This led to a more salty mixture inside the battery, better interaction with the cathode and the lack of collection of sodium crystals.

For 1000 cycles, the new Na-ion battery still retains more than 80 percent of its charge – this is not enough to break into your smartphone, but it is a huge step forward for alternative battery technology, which promises more achievements in the future.

“Our study showed a significant correlation between the evolution of the cathode structure and the interaction of the surface with the electrolyte. These are the best results ever reported for a layered-cathode sodium-ion battery, show that it is a viable technology comparable to a lithium-ion battery”, – says material scientist Yue Lin of the University of Washington (WSU).

Despite the fact that currently lithium-ion dominates the market of smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles, it has its weaknesses – not least expensive sources of lithium. But, if we need more of these batteries, we need to have an alternative.

“This work paves the way for practical sodium-ion batteries, and the fundamental understanding we got about electron-electrolyte interaction sheds light on how we could develop future cobalt-free or low-cobalt cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries, and also in other types of batteries”, – Song emphasized.