Preparation and Electrochemical Performance of Na_2-xLi_xFePO₄F/C Composite Cathode Materials with Different...

With their advantages of abundant raw material reserves, safety, and low toxicity and cost, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have gained increasing attention in recent years. Thanks to a high theoretical specific capacity (124 mAh g^-1), a high operating voltage (about 3.2 V), and a very stable three-dimensional layered structure, sodium ferric fluorophosphate (Na₂FePO₄F, NFPF) has emerged as a strong candidate to be used as a cathode material for SIBs. However, applications are currently limited due to the low electronic conductivity and slow ion diffusion rate of NFPF, which result in a low actual specific capacity and a high rate performance. In this study, the authors used a high-temperature solid-phase technique to produce Na_2-xLi_xFePO₄F/C (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) and evaluated the impact on electrode performance of materials with different Na⁺ and Li⁺ contents (values of x). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also used to analyze the material's crystal structure and nanostructure. The results show that the material had the best room-temperature performance when x = 0.5. At a charge-discharge rate of 0.1 C, the first discharge-specific capacity of the resulting Na_1.5Li_0.5FePO₄F/C cathode material was 122.9 mAh g^-1 (the theoretical capacity was 124 mAh g^-1), and after 100 cycles, it remained at 118 mAh g^-1, representing a capacity retention rate of 96.2% and a Coulomb efficiency of 98%. The findings of this study demonstrate that combining lithium and sodium ions improves the electrochemical performance of electrode materials.