Mixed phase sodium manganese oxide as cathode for enhanced aqueous zinc-ion storage

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries have been regarded as a promising alternative to large-scale energy storage, due to associated low-cost, improved safety and environmental friendliness. However, a high-performance cathode material for both rate capability and specific capacity is still a challenge. One kind of the more promising candidates are sodium manganese oxide(NMO) materials, although they suffer from individual issues and need to be further improved. Herein, we present a novel mixed phase NMO material composed of nearly equal amounts of Na(0.55)Mn2O4 and Na(0.7)MnO(2.05). The structured configuration with particle size of 200–500 nm is found to be beneficial towards improving the ion diffusion rate during the charge/discharge process. Compared with Na(0.7)MnO(2.05) and Na(0.55)Mn2O4, the mixed phase NMO demonstrates an enhanced rate capability and excellent long-term cycling stability with a capacity retention of 83% after 800 cycles. More importantly, the system also delivers an impressive energy density and power density, as 378 W·h·kg^-1 at 68.7 W·kg^-1, or 172 W·h·kg^-1 at 1705 W·kg^-1. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the fast Zn^2+ diffusion rate because of a large ratio of capacitive contribution(63.9% at 0.9 m V·s^-1). Thus, the mixed phase route provides a novel strategy to enhance electrochemical performance, enabling mixed phase NMO as very promising material towards large-scale energy-storage applications.

Comparative structural and electrochemical properties of mixed P2/O′3-layered sodium nickel manganese oxide prepared by sol-gel and electrospinning methods:Effect of Na-excess content

The effect of Na-excess content in the precursor on the structural and electrochemical performances of sodium nickel manganese oxide(NNMO)prepared by sol-gel and electrospinning methods is investigated in this paper.X-ray diffraction results of the prepared NNMO without adding Na-excess content indicate sodium loss,while the mixed phase of P2/O′3-type layered NNMO presented after adding Na-excess content.Compared with the sol-gel method,the secondary phase of NiO is more suppressed by using the electrospinning method,which is further confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscope images.N_(2) adsorption-desorption isotherms show no remarkably difference in specific surface areas between different preparation methods and Na-excess contents.The analysis of X-ray absorption near edge structure indicates that the oxidation states of Ni and Mn are+2 and+4,respectively.For the electrochemical properties,superior electrochemical performance is observed in the NNMO electrode with a low Na-excess content of 5wt%.The highest specific capacitance is 36.07 F·g^(-1)at0.1 A·g^(-1)in the NNMO electrode prepared by using the sol-gel method.By contrast,the NNMO electrode prepared using the electrospinning method with decreased Na-excess content shows excellent cycling stability of 100%after charge-discharge measurements for 300 cycles.Therefore,controlling the Na excess in the precursor together with the preparation method is important for improving the electrochemical performance of Na-based electrode materials in supercapacitors.

Facile Synthesis of Layered Sodium Manganese Oxide for Application in Asymmetric Supercapacitor

Layered sodium manganese oxides(LSMOs),with two-dimensional channels for ion diffusion,have been regarded as the promising electrode materials in the application of asymmetric supercapacitors(ASCs).In this work,the layered Na0.5Mn2O4·1.5H2O was synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method by controlling the molar ratio of sodium and manganese.When the molar ratio of sodium to manganese is 3:1,Na0.5Mn2O4·1.5H2O has shown the best capacitance of 369 F/g with current density of 0.5 A/g,and maintained a capacitance of 265 F/g after 2000 cycles.The asymmetric supercapacitor consists of the sodium manages oxides as the positive electrode and active carbon(AC)as the negative electrode in 1 mol/L Na2SO4 solution.The voltage of the asymmetric supercapacitor has been expanded to 0~2 V with an energy density of 10.13 Wh/kg at a power density of 500 W/kg based on the total weight of both active electrode materials when the mass ratio of AC to Na0.5Mn2O4·1.5H2O was 3:1.

Effects of Na content on structure and electrochemical performances of Na_xMnO_(2+δ) cathode material

Sodium manganese oxides,NaxMnO2+δ(x = 0.4,0.5,0.6,0.7,1.0;δ = 0-0.3),were synthesized by solid-state reaction routine combined with sol-gel process.The structure,morphology and electrochemical performances of as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD,SEM,CV,EIS and galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments.It is found that Na0.6MnO2+δ and Na0.7MnO2+δ have high discharge capacity and good cycle performance.At a current density of 25 mA/g at the cutoff voltage of 2.0-4.3 V,Na0.6MnO2+δ gives the second discharge capacity of 188 mA·h/g and remains 77.9% of second discharge capacity after 40 cycles.Na0.7MnO2+δ exhibits the second discharge capacity of 176 mA·h/g and shows better cyclic stability;the capacity retention after 40 cycles is close to 85.5%.Even when the current density increases to 250 mA/g,the discharge capacity of Na0.7MnO2+δ still approaches to 107 mA·h/g after 40 cycles.