Sodium-ion batteries can be charged in seconds

According to the official website of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on the 19th, scientists from the agency integrated the anode materials commonly used in batteries with the cathode materials suitable for supercapacitors to develop a high-energy, high-power sodium-ion hybrid battery. The battery can be fully charged in a few seconds and is expected to replace lithium-ion batteries and be used in electric vehicles, smart electronic devices, aerospace technology and other fields. The relevant paper was published in the latest issue of the journal "Energy Storage Materials".

Schematic diagram of the synthesis process and energy storage mechanism of sodium ion hybrid energy storage anode and cathode materials.
Image source: KAIST official website

In nature, sodium reserves are more than 500 times that of lithium, and sodium-ion battery technology has attracted much attention in recent years. However, existing sodium-ion batteries have many disadvantages, including low power output, limited storage characteristics, and long charging time. In the latest study, researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST developed this sodium-ion hybrid battery that can be charged quickly.

This sodium-ion hybrid energy storage system integrates common battery anode materials and cathodes suitable for supercapacitors. However, battery anodes usually store energy slowly, while supercapacitor cathode materials have relatively low electrical capacity. In order to improve the energy storage speed and increase the capacity of the new battery, the research team optimized its synthesis using two different metal organic frameworks.

By incorporating fine active materials into the porous carbon of the metal-organic framework, the research team developed anode materials with better kinetic properties, synthesized high-capacity cathode materials, and minimized the difference in energy storage rates between the cathode and anode. The result is a hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device with high storage capacity and fast charge and discharge rates, which is expected to become a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

The new battery can be quickly charged in a few seconds, with an energy density of 247 watt-hours per kilogram and a power density of 34,748 watts per kilogram. After 5,000 charge and discharge cycles, the coulombic efficiency is still close to 100%. The battery can be widely used in many fields such as mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, and large-scale power grid systems.