Stable sodium metal anode enabled by interfacial room‐temperature liquid metal engineering for high‐performance sodium–sulfur batteries with carbonate‐based electrolyte

Abstract

Abstract Sodium (Na) metal is a competitive anode for next‐generation energy storage applications in view of its low cost and high‐energy density. However, the uncontrolled side reactions, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and dendrite growth at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces impede the practical application of Na metal as anode. Herein, a heterogeneous Na‐based alloys interfacial protective layer is constructed in situ on the surface of Na foil by self‐diffusion of liquid metal at room temperature, named “HAIP Na.” The interfacial Na‐based alloys layer with good electrolyte wettability and strong sodiophilicity, and assisted in the construction of NaF‐rich SEI. By means of direct visualization and theoretical simulation, we verify that the interfacial Na‐based alloys layer enabling uniform Na+ flux deposition and suppressing the dendrite growth. As a result, in the carbonate‐based electrolyte, the HAIP Na||HAIP Na symmetric cells exhibit a remarkably enhanced cycling life for more than 650 h with a capacity of 1 mAh cm−2 at a current density of 1 mA cm−2. When the HAIP Na anode is paired with sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) cathode, the SPAN||HAIP Na full cells demonstrate excellent rate performance and cycling stability.

Keywords

• interfacial Na‐based alloy layer
• liquid metal
• Na dendrite
• Na metal anode
• Na–S battery