Electrolyte Interfacial Reactivity Regulates Alloying Anode Pulverization

ABSTRACT Alloying materials are promising anodes for high‐energy alkali‐ion batteries but suffer from rapid capacity fading. Here we demonstrate that tuning electrolyte‐anode interfacial reactivity enables ∼99% capacity retention of high‐loading bismuth anodes over 250 cycles in sodium‐ion batteries, whereas a highly reactive electrolyte results in rapid capacity decay to ∼20% within 10 cycles. Using bulk bismuth as a model system, we show that electrolyte interfacial reactivity critically governs anode pulverization and electrochemical stability by modulating grain refinement and the coupled evolution of particle cracking, electrode architecture, and solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth. Severe bismuth particle cracking and compositionally similar SEIs are observed in designed electrolytes of differing reactivities. A low‐reactivity electrolyte produces a porous electrode composed of micrometer‐sized bismuth grains coated with a thin SEI. In contrast, a high‐reactivity electrolyte drives pulverization into fine nanoparticles encapsulated by a thick SEI, yielding dense electrodes and fast capacity failure. This mechanism, further validated in Sn anodes for sodium‐ion batteries, is expected to be broadly applicable to large‐volume‐change alloying anodes, offering a general strategy for the development of next‐generation high‐energy alkali‐ion batteries.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Energy Materials
Published
2026-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71596
Primary Topic
Advancements in Battery Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
article

Electrolyte Interfacial Reactivity Regulates Alloying Anode Pulverization

Matthew Fayette, Seoa Kim, Zihua Zhu, Bharat Gwalani et al.
Advanced Energy Materials
Advancements in Battery Materials
article

Electrolyte Interfacial Reactivity Regulates Alloying Anode Pulverization

Matthew Fayette, Seoa Kim, Zihua Zhu, Bharat Gwalani, Yulan Li, Yaobin Xu, Bhuvaneswari Modachur Sivakumar, Jiyu Cai, Won‐Gwang Lim, Peiyuan Gao, Lili Liu, Xiaolin Li, Chongmin Wang, Guosheng Li, Namhyung Kim, Zonghai Chen, Md Jasim Uddin, Fred Omneya, Mark Engelhard, David Reed, Shenyang Hu, Hsin‐Mei Kao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Alloying materials are promising anodes for high‐energy alkali‐ion batteries but suffer from rapid capacity fading. Here we demonstrate that tuning electrolyte‐anode interfacial reactivity enables ∼99% capacity retention of high‐loading bismuth anodes over 250 cycles in sodium‐ion batteries, whereas a highly reactive electrolyte results in rapid capacity decay to ∼20% within 10 cycles. Using bulk bismuth as a model system, we show that electrolyte interfacial reactivity critically governs anode pulverization and electrochemical stability by modulating grain refinement and the coupled evolution of particle cracking, electrode architecture, and solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth. Severe bismuth particle cracking and compositionally similar SEIs are observed in designed electrolytes of differing reactivities. A low‐reactivity electrolyte produces a porous electrode composed of micrometer‐sized bismuth grains coated with a thin SEI. In contrast, a high‐reactivity electrolyte drives pulverization into fine nanoparticles encapsulated by a thick SEI, yielding dense electrodes and fast capacity failure. This mechanism, further validated in Sn anodes for sodium‐ion batteries, is expected to be broadly applicable to large‐volume‐change alloying anodes, offering a general strategy for the development of next‐generation high‐energy alkali‐ion batteries.

Advanced Energy Materials
Argonne National Laboratory (US), North Carolina State University (US), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (US)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Advancements in Battery Materials
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.