Morphological adaptability of graphitic carbon nanofibers to enhance sodium insertion in a diglyme-based electrolyte

Abstract

The recent introduction of glyme-based solvents has opened new opportunities to characterize graphitic materials as anodes for sodium-ion batteries. We evaluated the electrochemical behaviour of a graphitized carbon nanofiber for the first time. X-ray diffraction, electron paramagnetic resonance and nuclear magnetic resonance allowed the sodium insertion mechanism to be untangled, in which the occurrence of an activation process during the first discharge enhances sodium accessibility to active redox centres at the interlayer space. Morphological changes observed by electron microscopy could be responsible for this behaviour. A fully graphitized carbon nanofibers/NaPF₆(diglyme)/Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ sodium-ion battery was tested to probe the reliability of this graphitic nanostructure as a negative electrode.