AgNa(VO2F2)2: A Trioxovanadium Fluoride with Unconventional Electrochemical Properties

We present structural and electrochemical analyses of a new double-wolframite compound: AgNa-(VO2F2)(2) or SSVOF. SSVOF is fully ordered and displays electrochemical characteristics that give insight into electrode design for energy storage beyond lithium-ion chemistries. The compound contains trioxovanadium fluoride octahedra that combine to form one-dimensional chain like basic building units, characteristic of wolframite (NaWO4). The ID chains are stacked to create 2D layers; the cations Ag+ and Na+ lie between these layers. The vanadium oxide-fluoride octahedra are ordered by the use of cations (Ag+, Na+) that differ in polarizability. In the case of sodium-ion batteries, thermodynamically, the use of a sodium anode introduces a 300 mV loss in overall cell voltage as compared to a lithium anode; however, this can be counter balanced by introduction of fluoride into the framework to raise the reduction potentials via an inductive effect This allows sodium-ion batteries to have comparable voltages to lithium systems. With SSVOF as a baseline compound, we have identified new materials design rules for emerging sodium-ion systems that do not apply to lithium-ion systems. These strategies can be applied broadly to provide materials of interest for fundamental structural chemistry and appreciable voltages for sodium-ion electrochemistry.