Water-In-Glass: A Self-Supporting Inorganic Aqueous Electrolyte
Aqueous rechargeable sodium-ion batteries (ARNIBs) are emerging as cost-effective and safe candidates for large-scale energy storage applications. However, their advancement has been constrained by the narrow electrochemical stability window (ESW) of conventional aqueous electrolytes (1.23 V). Here, we present a transformative approach using an inexpensive and rapidly dissolvable inorganic glass material, water glass (W-glass), to significantly enhance the ESW and enable the development of solid-state, self-supporting aqueous film (SSA film) electrolytes. These SSA film electrolytes exhibit an extended ESW of up to 3.5 V and a conductivity of ∼10<sup>-4</sup> S/cm at room temperature. Structural analysis using magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and solution-state NMR reveals that the dissolution of W-glass in water is driven by the interdependent hydrolysis of P-O-P linkages and Na<sup>+</sup>-H<sup>+</sup> ion exchange. This work offers a cost-effective and scalable solution for advancing high-performance ARNIB technology, addressing critical barriers to commercial adoption.
Authors
- Indrajeet Mandal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8808-4602)
- Krishna Kishor Dey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8056-9357)
- K. Jayanthi
- Nitya Nand Gosvami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4082-9887)
- S. Maidul Haque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7569-6370)
- Prince Sen
- Mir Wasim Raja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3090-7378)
- Prabir Pal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7356-2587)
- N. M. Anoop Krishnan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1500-4947)
- Manasi Ghosh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8472-0288)
- Amarnath Reddy Allu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0450-0929)
- Bijay Laxmi Pradhan
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (IN)
- Shanghai Institute for Science of Science (CN)
- Division of Biological Infrastructure (US)
- Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IN)
- Dr. Hari Singh Gour University (IN)
- Banaras Hindu University (IN)
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
- Published
- 2025-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c04789
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Science and Engineering Research Board