Issue 7, 2021

Materials engineering for adsorption and catalysis in room-temperature Na–S batteries

Abstract

Room-temperature sodium–sulfur (RT Na–S) batteries constitute an extremely competitive electrochemical energy storage system, owing to their abundant natural resources, low cost, and outstanding energy density, which could potentially overcome the limitations of the current dominant lithium-ion batteries, such as their high cost and limited materials resources. Nevertheless, a severe shuttle effect and sluggish reaction kinetics are the two major obstacles that impede the sustainable development and practical application of RT Na–S batteries. Therefore, research into adsorption and catalysis strategies for the RT Na–S chemistry has attracted a great deal of interest and become the focal point of battery research in this area. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent advances in materials engineering for adsorption and catalysis in RT Na–S batteries. The electrochemical mechanisms and critical challenges are presented first. Various adsorption strategies with different forms and principles are then discussed, including nanostructured confinement, heteroatom doping, covalent bonding, and polar interactions. Subsequently, electrocatalysis engineering for RT Na–S batteries is comprehensively reviewed, including the topics of electrocatalysis theory, characterization methods and techniques, and design of electrocatalysts. These electrocatalysts encompass single atoms, metal clusters/nanoparticles, metal chalcogenides, and free radical species. In addition, the synergistic relationship between adsorption and catalysis is of great significance to synchronously address the issues of the shuttle effect and improved redox kinetics; hence, designs for adsorption-catalysis synergy are provided, including Lewis acid–base reactions, heterostructures, and chalcogen hybridization. Finally, significant challenges and future developmental directions regarding RT Na–S batteries are summarized and their prospects are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Materials engineering for adsorption and catalysis in room-temperature Na–S batteries

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
06 maj 2021
Accepted
17 jun 2021
First published
17 jun 2021

Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 3757-3795

Materials engineering for adsorption and catalysis in room-temperature Na–S batteries

X. L. Huang, Y. Wang, S. Chou, S. X. Dou and Z. M. Wang, Energy Environ. Sci., 2021, 14, 3757 DOI: 10.1039/D1EE01349A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements