Scientists at the National Research Council of Science & Technology of South Korea have achieved a break through. Their discovery is a new, ultra fast technology for manufacturing sodium-ion battery anodes within 30 seconds. This should bring the manufacturing cost down, if they are able to commercialize it and bring it to market.
The Benefits of Using Sodium and Hard Carbon in Batteries
Sodium batteries traditionally use a synthesized hard carbon for their anode, on account of its ability to absorb sodium. The Research Council’s press release (see link below) explains how these materials are ‘more then a thousand-times cheaper than lithium’.
Moreover, sodium and hard carbon are also both less reactive, delivering greater electrochemical stability in batteries. And this in turn enables faster discharging and charging, even at low temperatures.
However, and here’s the catch, sodium-ions are larger than lithium-ion ones, necessitating hard carbon’s greater interlayer spacing. These two factors are behind the lower density and shorter lifespan of sodium-ion battery anodes per volume.
And finally, synthesizing hard carbon requires heating in an oxygen-free environment at 1,000°C for extended periods. The researchers believe the high cost of this process is a ‘key obstacle’ to commercialization.while also being ‘economically and environmentally burdensome’.
Induction Heating Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes for Fast Manufacture
The South Korean team decided to experiment with rapid heating, using microwaves such as are readily available in almost every modern kitchen. The two-stage process they followed was also quite straightforward:
- First, create films by mixing polymers with small amounts of highly conductive carbon nanotubes.
- Then, apply a microwave magnetic field to the films to induce currents in the carbon nanotubes.
This process ‘selectively heats the films to over 1,400°C in just 30 seconds’, according to the research report we link to below. This finding has broader implications for rapid heating of laboratory materials, and potentially in manufacturing too.
More Information
Improved Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries
Sodium-ion Battery Storage Lift-Off in China
Preview Image: Manufacture of Sodium Anodes
