Na⁺/vacancy disordering promises high-rate Na-ion batteries

As one of the most fascinating cathode candidates for Na-ion batteries (NIBs), P2-type Na layered oxides usually exhibit various single-phase domains accompanied by different Na⁺/vacancy-ordered superstructures, depending on the Na concentration when explored in a limited electrochemical window. Therefore, their Na⁺ kinetics and cycling stability at high rates are subjected to these superstructures, incurring obvious voltage plateaus in the electrochemical profiles and insufficient battery performance as cathode materials for NIBs. We show that this problem can be effectively diminished by reasonable structure modulation to construct a completely disordered arrangement of Na-vacancy within Na layers. The combined analysis of scanning transmission electron microscopy, ex situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and operando x-ray diffraction experiments, coupled with density functional theory calculations, reveals that Na⁺/vacancy disordering between the transition metal oxide slabs ensures both fast Na mobility (10^-10 to 10^-9 cm² s^-1) and a low Na diffusion barrier (170 meV) in P2-type compounds. As a consequence, the designed P2-Na_2/3Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Ti_1/3O₂ displays extra-long cycle life (83.9% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 1 C) and unprecedented rate capability (77.5% of the initial capacity at a high rate of 20 C). These findings open up a new route to precisely design high-rate cathode materials for rechargeable NIBs.