- Ion conductivity comparable to commercial liquid electrolytes.
- Scalable water-mediated thin membrane fabrication.
- Significantly improved ionic conductivity, moisture resistivity, and electrochemical stability.
Sulfide- and halide-based ceramic ionic conductors offer ionic conductivity similar to that of liquid electrolytes, making them suitable candidates for high-energy and high-power-density all-solid-state batteries. However, their inherent brittleness makes it challenging to fabricate thin membranes for practical batteries.
The Sang research laboratory at the University of Alberta have developed a cellulose-encapsulated sodium thioantimonate (NSS) composite electrolyte for high-energy-density solid-state sodium batteries. They created a thin (sub-hundred micrometers) yet robust electrolyte membrane using a cost-effective water-assisted solution process. This ultra-thin sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) encapsulation slightly reduces Na+ mobility but increases Na+ conductance due to the reduced thickness. The CMC coating also acts as a barrier, protecting NSS from metallic Na electrodes, moisture, and extremely negative potentials. During electrochemical tests over 250 cycles, the CMC coating remains stable with minor structural changes.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
- Improved moisture resistivity and electrochemical stability, leading to better cycling performance.
- Offers 5-fold increase in Na+ conductance due to reduced electrolyte thickness.
- The thin (~100 micrometer) NSS−CMC composite electrolyte pellets are more flexible and ductile compared to ceramic NSS pellets that are 10% thicker.
Transforming discoveries and innovations into reality is a complex and lengthy process. UAlberta’s Technology Transfer Services (TTS) team helps facilitate this journey. Part of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation) portfolio, TTS helps researchers, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students transform innovations and discoveries into reality—moving them out of the university to benefit society, the economy, the world.
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