Inhibiting\nShuttle Effect and Dendrite Growth in Sodium–Sulfur\nBatteries Enabled by Applying External Acoustic Field

The room-temperature sodium–sulfur (RT Na–S)\nbattery\nis a promising alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries owing\nto its abundant material availability and high specific energy density.\nHowever, the sodium polysulfide shuttle effect and dendritic growth\npose significant challenges to their practical applications. In this\nstudy, we apply diverse disciplinary backgrounds to introduce a novel\nmethod to stimulate polarized BaTiO<sub>3</sub> (BTO) nanoparticles\non the separator. This approach generates more charges due to the\npiezoelectric effect under stronger driving forces produced by applying\na controllable acoustic field at the outer edge of the cell. The acoustically\nstimulated BTO attracts more polysulfides, thus reducing the shuttling\neffect from the cathode to the anode and ultimately enhancing the\nbattery performance. Meanwhile, the acoustic waves create additional\nstreaming flows, improving the uniformity of the sodium ion dispersion,\nenhancing the sodium ion transport and reducing the possibility of\nsodium dendrite development. We believe that this work offers a new\nstrategy for the development of high-performance Na–S batteries.