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Title: In situ TEM probing of crystallization form-dependent sodiation behavior in ZnO nanowires for sodium-ion batteries

Journal Article · · Nano Energy
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [2];  [3]
  1. Southeast Univ., Nanjing (China). Key Lab. of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center; Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.
  2. Southeast Univ., Nanjing (China). Key Lab. of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center
  3. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.
  4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)
  5. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Inst. of Physics
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Development of sodium-ion battery (SIB) electrode materials currently lags behind electrodes in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, in the long term, development of SIB components is a valuable goal. Their similar, but not identical, chemistries require careful identification of the underlying sodiation mechanism in SIBs. Here in this study, we utilize in situ transmission electron microscopy to explore quite different sodiation behaviors even in similar electrode materials through real-time visualization of microstructure and phase evolution. Upon electrochemical sodiation, single-crystalline ZnO nanowires (sc-ZNWs) are found to undergo a step-by-step electrochemical displacement reaction, forming crystalline NaZn13 nanograins dispersed in a Na2O matrix. This process is characterized by a slowly propagating reaction front and the formation of heterogeneous interfaces inside the ZNWs due to non-uniform sodiation amorphization. In contrast, poly-crystalline ZNWs (pc-ZNWs) exhibited an ultrafast sodiation process, which can partly be ascribed to the availability of unobstructed ionic transport pathways among ZnO nanograins. Thus the reaction front and heterogeneous interfaces disappear. The in situ TEM results, supported by calculation of the ion diffusion coefficient, provide breakthrough insights into the dependence of ion diffusion kinetics on crystallization form. This points toward a goal of optimizing the microstructure of electrode materials in order to develop high performance SIBs.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; AC02-98CH10886; SC0012704l
OSTI ID:
1372427
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1419585
Report Number(s):
BNL-113854-2017-JA; R&D Project: MA015MACA; KC0201010
Journal Information:
Nano Energy, Vol. 30, Issue C; ISSN 2211-2855
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 52 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

A 1D Honeycomb‐Like Amorphous Zincic Vanadate for Stable and Fast Sodium‐Ion Storage journal January 2020
Na-Ion Batteries for Large Scale Applications: A Review on Anode Materials and Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation journal July 2017
Nanostructured Conversion-Type Negative Electrode Materials for Low-Cost and High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries journal August 2018
Recent Progress of In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Energy Materials journal September 2019
Highly dispersed Zn nanoparticles confined in a nanoporous carbon network: promising anode materials for sodium and potassium ion batteries journal January 2018
MOF-derived and nitrogen-doped ZnSe polyhedra encapsulated by reduced graphene oxide as the anode for lithium and sodium storage journal January 2018
In Situ TEM Investigation of ZnO Nanowires during Sodiation and Lithiation Cycling journal August 2017
Zinc Ferrite Nanorod‐Assembled Mesoporous Microspheres as Advanced Anode Materials for Sodium‐Ion Batteries journal August 2019
Enhanced Interfacial Kinetics of Carbon Monolith Boosting Ultrafast Na‐Storage journal December 2018
Three-Dimensional ZnO Hierarchical Nanostructures: Solution Phase Synthesis and Applications journal November 2017
ZnO/rGO/C composites derived from metal–organic framework as advanced anode materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries journal January 2018

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
25 ENERGY STORAGE
Sodium-ion batteries
In situ transmission electron microscopy
ZnO nanowires
Electrochemical sodiation
Microstructure control