Unveiling the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of NaxFe(SO4)(2) (x=0-2) : toward a high-capacity and low-cost cathode material

• The mineral eldfellite, NaFe(SO4)(2), was recently proposed as an inexpensive candidate for the next generation of cathode application in Na-based batteries. Employing the density functional theory framework, we have investigated the phase stability, electrochemical properties and ionic diffusion of this eldfellite cathode material. We showed that the crystal structure undergoes a volume shrinkage of approximate to 8% upon full removal of Na ions with no imaginary frequencies at the Gamma point of phonon dispersion. This evokes the stability of the host structure. According to this result, we proposed structural changes to get higher specific energy by inserting two Na ions per redox-active metal. Our calculations indicate NaV(SO4)(2) as the best candidate with the capability of reversibly inserting two Na ions per redox center and producing an excellent specific energy. The main bottleneck for the application of eldfellite as a cathode is the high activation energies for the Na+ ion hop, which can reach values even higher than 1 eV for the charged state. This effect produces a low ionic insertion rate.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Materialkemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Materials Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Activation energy

Crystal structure

Density functional theory

Dispersions

Electrodes

Ions

Metals

Redox reactions

Cath-ode materials

High activation energy

Imaginary frequency

Ionic diffusion

Kinetic properties

Phonon dispersions

Redox-active metals

Volume shrinkage

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