Realizing Complete Solid‐Solution Reaction in High Sodium Content P2‐Type Cathode for High‐Performance Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

Abstract P2‐type layered oxides suffer from an ordered Na + /vacancy arrangement and P2→O2/OP4 phase transitions, leading them to exhibit multiple voltage plateaus upon Na + extraction/insertion. The deficient sodium in the P2‐type cathode easily induces the bad structural stability at deep desodiation states and limited reversible capacity during Na + de/insertion. These drawbacks cause poor rate capability and fast capacity decay in most P2‐type layered oxides. To address these challenges, a novel high sodium content (0.85) and plateau‐free P2‐type cathode‐Na 0.85 Li 0.12 Ni 0.22 Mn 0.66 O 2 (P2‐NLNMO) was developed. The complete solid‐solution reaction over a wide voltage range ensures both fast Na + mobility (10 −11 to 10 −10 cm 2 s −1 ) and small volume variation (1.7 %). The high sodium content P2‐NLNMO exhibits a higher reversible capacity of 123.4 mA h g −1 , superior rate capability of 79.3 mA h g −1 at 20 C, and 85.4 % capacity retention after 500 cycles at 5 C. The sufficient Na and complete solid‐solution reaction are critical to realizing high‐performance P2‐type cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries.