Preparation and Characterization of Gradient Sealing Material for Sodium Anode Based Battery: Preparation and Characterization of Gradient Sealing Material for Sodium Anode Based Battery

A functional gradient material (FGM) based sealing was designed and applied to seal the alpha -Al(2)O(3) insulator with Na- beta -Al(2)O(3) solid electrolyte of sodium anode ba-tteries. FGMs with different component change rates were fabricated by powder stacking method. The experimental results indicated that the two dimensional feature of Na- beta -Al(2)O(3) grains greatly influenced the density of the alpha -Al(2)O(3)/Na- beta -Al(2)O(3) composite ceramics. It was demonstrated that the chemical diffusion of Na and Li in FGM diminished the interfaces among diffrent layers. Bending strengths of the FMGs reached (130 plus or minus 2), (180 plus or minus 3) and (225 plus or minus 2) MPa for the samples with component change rate of 20wt%, 10wt% and 5wt%, respectively. Moreover, the mechanical performance of the FGMs was rarely affected by heat treatment and thermal cycling, demonstrating its favorable mechanical and thermal stability.