Insertion compounds and composites made by ball milling for advanced sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries have been considered as potential candidates for stationary energy storage because of the low cost and wide availability of Na sources. However, their future commercialization depends critically on control over the solid electrolyte interface formation, as well as the degree of sodiation at the positive electrode. Here we report an easily scalable ball milling approach, which relies on the use of metallic sodium, to prepare a variety of sodium-based alloys, insertion layered oxides and polyanionic compounds having sodium in excess such as the Na 4 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 phase. The practical benefits of preparing sodium-enriched positive electrodes as reservoirs to compensate for sodium loss during solid electrolyte interphase formation are demonstrated by assembling full C/P′2-Na 1 [Fe 0.5 Mn 0.5 ]O 2 and C/‘Na 3+ x V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 ’ sodium-ion cells that show substantial increases (>10%) in energy storage density. Our findings may offer electrode design principles for accelerating the development of the sodium-ion technology. New sodium-ion battery technology requires better control over solid electrolyte interface formation. Here, the authors report a series of ball-milled sodium alloys and enriched insertion electrodes, which act as sodium reservoirs compensating for sodium loss during solid electrolyte interface formation.