Low‐Temperature Sodium–Sulfur Batteries Enabled by Ionic Liquid in Localized High Concentration Electrolytes
Abstract Low ionic migration and compromised interfacial stability pose challenges for low‐temperature batteries. In this work, we discovered that even with the state‐of‐the‐art localized high‐concentration electrolytes (LHCEs), uncontrolled Na electrodeposition occurs with a huge overpotential of >1.2 V at −20 °C, leading to cell failure within tens of hours. To address this, we introduce a new electrolyte category that incorporates an ionic liquid as a key solvation species. Diverging from traditional LHCEs, the IL‐tailored LHCE facilitates an anion–solvent‐molecules exchange within the solvation sheath between Na + and organic cations at low temperatures. This behavior reduces solvation cluster size and strengthens Na + –anion coordination, which proves instrumental in enabling fast ionic dynamics in both the bulk liquid and at the interface. Therefore, durable Na electrodeposition and shuttle‐free, 0.5 Ah sodium–sulfur pouch cells are achieved at −20 °C, for the first time, surpassing the limitations of typical LHCEs. This tailoring strategy opens a new design direction for advanced batteries operating in fast‐charge and wide‐temperature scenarios.
Authors
- Zixiong Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5239-5778)
- Zehao Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1860-4198)
- Dong Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1055-482X)
- Graeme Henkelman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0336-7153)
- Arumugam Manthiram (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0237-9563)
- Jiaao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4944-4951)
- Husam N. Alshareef
Institutions
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2024-10-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202409494
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.96
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Welch Foundation
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering