4.6 Article

Surface Engineering Strategy Using Urea To Improve the Rate Performance of Na2Ti3O7 in Na-Ion Batteries

Journal

CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202003129

Keywords

anode; Na2Ti3O7 and Na2Ti6O13; oxygen vacancies; sodium titanate; sodium-ion batteries; urea

Funding

  1. Faraday Institution NEXGENNA project [FIRG018]
  2. Lancaster University
  3. Ministry of Education Youth and Sports (MEYS) [LTAUSA19034]
  4. Faraday Institution
  5. EPSRC [EP/L000202, EP/R029431, EP/P020194/1]
  6. STandUP for Energy (Sweden)
  7. EPSRC [EP/P020194/1] Funding Source: UKRI

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The use of urea as a treatment method significantly enhances the cycling performance of Na2Ti3O7 by increasing Na+ ion diffusion coefficient and charge carrier density, without the need for nanosizing or complex synthetic strategies.
Na2Ti3O7 (NTO) is considered a promising anode material for Na-ion batteries due to its layered structure with an open framework and low and safe average operating voltage of 0.3 V vs. Na+/Na. However, its poor electronic conductivity needs to be addressed to make this material attractive for practical applications among other anode choices. Here, we report a safe, controllable and affordable method using urea that significantly improves the rate performance of NTO by producing surface defects such as oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups, and the secondary phase Na2Ti6O13. The enhanced electrochemical performance agrees with the higher Na+ ion diffusion coefficient, higher charge carrier density and reduced bandgap observed in these samples, without the need of nanosizing and/or complex synthetic strategies. A comprehensive study using a combination of diffraction, microscopic, spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques supported by computational studies based on DFT calculations, was carried out to understand the effects of this treatment on the surface, chemistry and electronic and charge storage properties of NTO. This study underscores the benefits of using urea as a strategy for enhancing the charge storage properties of NTO and thus, unfolding the potential of this material in practical energy storage applications.

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