From Sodium-Oxygen to Sodium-Air Battery: Enabled by Sodium Peroxide Dihydrate

Metal-air batteries have attracted extensive research interests due to their high theoretical energy density. However, most of the previous studies were limited by applying pure oxygen in the cathode, sacrificing the gravimetric and volumetric energy density. Here, we develop a real sodium-"air" battery, in which the rechargeability of the battery relies on the reversible reaction of the formation of sodium peroxide dihydrate (Na₂O₂·2H₂O). After an oxygen evolution reaction catalyst is applied, the charge overpotential is largely reduced to achieve a high energy efficiency. The sodium-air batteries deliver high areal capacity of 4.2 mAh·cm^-2 and have a decent cycle life of 100 cycles. The oxygen crossover effect is largely suppressed by replacing the oxygen with air, whereas the dense solid electrolyte interphase formed on the sodium anode further prolongs the cycle life.