Achieving highly reversible and fast sodium storage of Na4VMn(PO4)3/C-rGO composite with low-fraction rGO via spray-drying technique

NASICON-type (Na super ionic conductor) Na4VMn(PO4)(3) (NVMP) cathode material has attracted increasing attention due to its higher sodium de-/intercalation voltage, lower cost and greener resources compared with Na3V2(PO4)(3). However, the poor electronic conductivity limits the exploitation of its electrochemical perfor-mance. In this work, we achieved an ultrahigh rate capable and long cycle life NVMP/C-rGO composite using the simple and scalable spray-drying technique, in which low-fraction rGO nanosheets (2.14 wt%) highly dispersed and bridged the carbon shelled NVMP nanoparticles to form an effective electron conductive network. Benefiting from this favorable nano-architecture, the elaborately designed NVMP/C-rGO composite exhibited excellent performance as cathode in sodium ion batteries, delivering reversible capacities of 105.5 mA h g(-1) at 1 C (1 C = 110 mA h g(-1)) and 102.6 mA h g(-1) at 50 C with capacity retention of 90.6% (1 C) and 80.4% (50 C) over 500 cycles, respectively. This is the highest rate performance for Na4VMn(PO4)(3) materials reported so far. This work provides a practicable tactic for fabricating advanced polyanion-type cathode materials which can be commercially scale up for sodium energy storage.

Automated summary

In this study, an ultrahigh rate capable and long cycle life NVMP/C-rGO composite was successfully prepared using spray-drying technique, showing excellent electron conductivity as a cathode in sodium ion batteries. This composite material delivered high reversible capacities at different rates, with outstanding capacity retention over 500 cycles.