Asymmetrically Coordinated p ‐Block Aluminum Single‐Atom Sites for Stable Na─S Batteries

ABSTRACT Main‐group metal single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are promising for sodium−sulfur (Na─S) batteries owing to their low toxicity and economic viability, yet their inherently poor catalytic activity limits the electrochemical performance. Moreover, the electronic interplay involving p‐p orbital hybridization between p ‐block metal SACs and sodium polysulfides (Na 2 S n ) remains unclear. Herein, we design efficient aluminum (Al) SACs with a planar asymmetrical Al─O 3 N coordination anchored on carbon materials (Al─O 3 N─C) for Na─S batteries. The introduced N ligand breaks the coordination symmetry, creating localized charge at the Al sites, which enhances p‐p orbital hybridization between Al‐3 p and S‐3 p of Na 2 S n . This effectively suppresses Na 2 S n shuttling and accelerates sulfur redox kinetics. The resulting Al─O 3 N─C/S exhibits a high capacity of 1196 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C after 100 cycles, and an ultralow capacity decay of 0.017% per cycle over 2500 cycles, outperforming most reported d ‐block SACs for Na─S batteries. This strategy of regulating p ‐orbital charge distribution provides a general guideline for the rational design of other efficient main‐group metal SACs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-09-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.9140872
Primary Topic
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
Type
article
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article

Asymmetrically Coordinated p ‐Block Aluminum Single‐Atom Sites for Stable Na─S Batteries

Fangcai Zheng, Sheng Yao, Fangsheng Chen, Changlai Wang et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
article

Asymmetrically Coordinated p ‐Block Aluminum Single‐Atom Sites for Stable Na─S Batteries

Fangcai Zheng, Sheng Yao, Fangsheng Chen, Changlai Wang, Hui Wang, Jiayao Yu, Zhiqiang Li, Zhicheng Huang, Chen Shen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Main‐group metal single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are promising for sodium−sulfur (Na─S) batteries owing to their low toxicity and economic viability, yet their inherently poor catalytic activity limits the electrochemical performance. Moreover, the electronic interplay involving p‐p orbital hybridization between p ‐block metal SACs and sodium polysulfides (Na 2 S n ) remains unclear. Herein, we design efficient aluminum (Al) SACs with a planar asymmetrical Al─O 3 N coordination anchored on carbon materials (Al─O 3 N─C) for Na─S batteries. The introduced N ligand breaks the coordination symmetry, creating localized charge at the Al sites, which enhances p‐p orbital hybridization between Al‐3 p and S‐3 p of Na 2 S n . This effectively suppresses Na 2 S n shuttling and accelerates sulfur redox kinetics. The resulting Al─O 3 N─C/S exhibits a high capacity of 1196 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C after 100 cycles, and an ultralow capacity decay of 0.017% per cycle over 2500 cycles, outperforming most reported d ‐block SACs for Na─S batteries. This strategy of regulating p ‐orbital charge distribution provides a general guideline for the rational design of other efficient main‐group metal SACs.

Angewandte Chemie
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Anhui University (CN), Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
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Asymmetrically Coordinated p ‐Block Aluminum Single‐Atom Sites for Stable Na─S Batteries — Fangcai Zheng, Sheng Yao, et al. · Angewandte Chemie (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS