Solvation-driven kinetics and interphase engineering for organic electrodes towards sodium storage.

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Physical Chemistry

Background:

• Organic electrodes are crucial for energy storage.
• Ether-based electrolytes are known for good compatibility with organic electrodes.
• Prior studies often attribute performance gains solely to compatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the complete causal chain for performance enhancement in organic electrodes using ether-based electrolytes.
• To investigate the role of solvation structure, interfacial kinetics, and interphase composition.
• To systematically compare ester and ether electrolytes for organic electrode applications.

Main Methods:

• Systematic dissection of performance disparities between ester and ether electrolytes.
• Utilizing trisodium 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate as a model organic electrode material.
• Analysis of solvation structure, interfacial kinetics, and interphase composition.

Main Results:

• Ether electrolytes exhibit an optimized solvation structure compared to ester electrolytes.
• This optimized structure leads to accelerated interfacial kinetics.
• An inorganic-rich interphase is formed in ether electrolytes, contributing to performance enhancement.

Conclusions:

• Performance enhancement in organic electrodes with ether electrolytes is driven by solvation-driven interfacial kinetics and interphase composition.
• Optimized solvation in ether electrolytes synergistically unlocks superior electrochemical performance.
• This work provides a deeper mechanistic understanding of organic electrode behavior in different electrolyte systems.