Materials for sodium-ion batteries

Following the successful development and application of lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries are making inroads towards better acceptance from both research communities and industrial entities as a promising electrochemical energy storage system (EESS) for wide ranging commercial applications. Wealth of knowledge of technological development and industrialization of lithium-ion batteries from the early 90s can be beneficial for development and commercialization of sodium-ion battery systems with the added advantage of wider availability of raw materials at a significantly lower cost. A substantial scientific knowledge base inherited from lithium-ion batteries has resulted in solving the fundamental issues of costings and development/assembly of various battery components for sodium-ion batteries. Further research is required to explore new materials and fine tune their nanostructure to enhance the electrochemical performance of sodium-ion based battery systems in a cost-effective and eco-friendly manner to bring this technology at par with lithium-ion batteries.

In this brief article, we endeavor to explore fundamental features that make sodium-ion batteries the preferred choice for further development, with particular emphasis on a wide spectrum of sodium based electrode materials and conventional/new state of the art electrolytes.