Low‐Temperature‐Resistant Sodium‐Metal Batteries Enabled by Amphiphilic Diluent‐Enhanced Electrolyte Design
Sodium metal batteries (SMBs) are a promising solution for grid-scale energy storage due to their high theoretical capacity, cost-effectiveness, and abundant sodium resources. However, their practical deployment is significantly constrained by unstable electrode-electrolyte interphases (EEIs) and sluggish interfacial kinetics, especially at low temperatures, leading to poor temperature tolerance and rapid capacity degradation. Herein, we present a rational electrolyte design strategy incorporating an amphiphilic diluent to modulate the solvation environment for low-temperature SMBs. This diluent enhances Na<sup>+</sup> transport within the electrolyte compared to traditional non-coordinating diluents and promotes anion incorporation into the Na<sup>+</sup> solvation sheath, thereby enabling the construction of robust, anion-derived, inorganic-rich EEIs. As a result, Na||Al/C half cells achieve impressive Coulombic efficiencies of 97.84% at 25°C and 93.85% at -20°C. Additionally, Na||sulfurized polyacrylonitrile full cells demonstrate outstanding cycling stability, retaining 93.4% of their capacity over 500 cycles at 1000 mA g<sup>-1</sup> and 25°C. Notably, the optimized electrolyte maintains stable low-temperature performance for 200 cycles at -20°C. This work introduces a versatile electrolyte-engineering strategy that stabilizes sodium metal interfaces, paving the way for durable, low-temperature-resistant sodium-sulfur batteries and beyond.
Authors
- Kena Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4796-8097)
- Kai Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9451-0890)
- Danjing Lin
- H. Wang
- Zhenwei Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9057-2157)
- Manxian Li
- Xiaoyan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6333-4321)
- Yuming Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7180-9515)
- Lianbo Ma
- Xiaochuan Chen
- Jingyue Zhao
- Xing Chen
Institutions
- Fujian Normal University (CN)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Anhui University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514885
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00