Room-temperature sodium-ion batteries have attracted increasing interest in recent years because of abundant sodium reserves and the low costs.Grid-scale energy storage applications are particularly relevant to this battery technology.Here,we present our recent progress in researching room-temperature sodium-ion batteries,and focus on new electrode materials,including cathodes and anodes,for both non-aqueous and aqueous systems.
Nowadays,there is an increasing need for large-scale energy storage with the developments of renewable energy sources including solar and wind power.Among the candidates,Li-ion batteries have been regarded as one of the most important alternatives to power the electric vehicles (EVs) and/or to store electric energy in largescale. Nonetheless,the performance of present Li ion batteries can still not meet the requirements
The rate and cycling performances of the electrode materials are affected by many factors in a practical complicated electrode process. Learning about the limiting step in a practical electrochemical reaction is very important to effectively improve the electrochemical performances of the electrode materials. Li4Ti5O12, as a zero-strain material, has been considered as a promising anode material for long life Li-ion batteries. In this study, our results show that the Li4Ti5O12 pasted on Cu or graphite felt current collector exhibits unexpectedly higher rate performance than on A1 current collector. For Li4Ti5O12, the electron transfer between current collector and active material is the critical factor that affects its rate and cycling performances.
