Electrode Engineering of Conversion-based Negative Electrodes for Na-ion Batteries

Due to lower costs and higher abundance of sodium, Na-ion battery technology can offer a good alternative to Li-ion batteries. Much research is focusing on developing new cathode and anode materials but the importance of the electrode engineering on the electrochemical performance is often neglected. The electrode composition is especially crucial for conversion reaction-based materials where the composite electrode (active material, conducting additive and binder) has to buffer the huge volume change occurring upon cycling. This work highlights the differences observed on Sn-CMC electrode performance by using different Sn particle sizes (micro- and nanoparticles) and evaluating the role of the conductive additive in the electrode. Carbon fibers (VGCF) demonstrate a good ability to surround micrometer particles but not especially nanometer particles leading to an improvement in the performance of microparticles but not of nanoparticles. For a high loading electrode suitable for full cell applications (>3.5 mg/cm(2) of active material), nanometer particles show limited performance for long-term cycling. The combination of VGCF with micrometer particles seems to be the most promising composition to obtain good performances for conversion reaction based-materials.