Presenter: Xenia Hassing-Hansen
Title: Observing the solid-state formation of P2-NaxCo0.7Mn0.3O2
Affiliation: Aarhus University
Abstract
Secondary sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have potential applications in terms of grid-scale energy storage – their lower energy densities compared with lithium analogues makes SIBs more relevant for stationary applications than for e.g. electrical vehicles (EVs). While lithium is expensive and unevenly distributed around the world, sodium can be extracted from water. The higher abundance further motivates the development of SIBs.
In 2016, Y. Shen et al. reported good electrochemical properties of the cathode material, NaxCo0.7Mn0.3O2 (x≈1). In the present study, the goal was to investigate the formation of an already-reported cathode material and eventually to understand and possibly improve the synthesis. The preliminary investigation was done by trying to replicate the results of the article and additionally performing in situ experiments using in-house powder x-ray diffraction.