Hao Chongyang, Zhang Xiaomin, He Zixu, Gao Mingxia, Liu Yongfeng, Pan Hongge, Sun Wenping
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, P.R. China.
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, P.R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025 Jun 2;64(23):e202503691. doi: 10.1002/anie.202503691. Epub 2025 Apr 1.
Anode-free sodium metal batteries (AFSMBs) are considered one of the most promising large-scale energy storage systems due to their extremely high energy density. Nonetheless, their practical application is hindered by the uncontrolled growth of sodium dendrites. Constructing a mechanically robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is an effective strategy to suppress dendrite formation. Herein, we report a catalysis chemistry approach to construct an ultra-thin (∼ 5 nm), NaF-rich and high-strength (203 MPa) SEI layer by introducing Ru catalytic sites on the current collector, which promotes rapid Na⁺ diffusion and effectively inhibits dendrite growth. Benefiting from this design, the Ru modified-Cu//Na asymmetric cells exhibit exceptional cycling stability over 2000 h (1000 cycles at 2 mA cm, 2 mAh cm). Furthermore, the AFSMBs with Ru modified-Cu current collector also deliver excellent cycling performance and maintains nearly 98.1% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 0.5 C. The results demonstrate great potential of catalysis chemistry in developing advanced sodium metal anodes and provide a new perspective to engineering efficient SEI toward battery applications.
无阳极钠金属电池（AFSMBs）因其极高的能量密度而被认为是最有前途的大规模储能系统之一。尽管如此，钠枝晶的无控制生长阻碍了它们的实际应用。构建机械坚固的固体电解质界面（SEI）是抑制枝晶形成的有效策略。在此，我们报告了一种催化化学方法，通过在集流体上引入Ru催化位点来构建超薄（约5nm）、富含NaF且高强度（203MPa）的SEI层，这促进了Na⁺的快速扩散并有效抑制了枝晶生长。受益于这种设计，Ru修饰的Cu//Na不对称电池在2000小时（2mA cm²、2mAh cm²下1000次循环）内表现出优异的循环稳定性。此外，具有Ru修饰Cu集流体的AFSMBs也具有出色的循环性能，在0.5C下100次循环后容量保持率接近98.1%。结果表明催化化学在开发先进钠金属阳极方面具有巨大潜力，并为面向电池应用设计高效SEI提供了新的视角。
