Aluminium catalyst helps Chinese researchers improve sodium-sulphur battery performance
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an aluminium-based catalyst to improve the performance and longevity of sodium-sulphur batteries. By modifying the atomic structure of aluminium, the team successfully stabilized the cathode and prevented polysulphide dissolution.
Why it matters
This innovation could lead to cheaper, more durable battery alternatives to lithium-ion, potentially lowering costs for energy storage and electric vehicles.
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Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed an aluminium-based catalyst that could help make sodium - sulphur batteries last longer. The catalyst addresses a problem that has limited the technology: Sodium polysulphides can dissolve and move away from the cathode, reducing battery life.
The research team, led by Professors Wang Hui and Zheng Fangcai at CAS's High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Hefei, changed the atomic structure of aluminium by replacing one oxygen atom with nitrogen. The team wrote in the press release, "This created an asymmetric structure with three oxygen atoms and one nitrogen atom around each Al atom." It is an Al - O3N structure (three oxygen atoms and one nitrogen atom surrounding each aluminium atom).
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