What is it about?
This study shows that coating a sodium-ion battery material (a phosphate of sodium and vanadium) with a thin layer of niobium oxide greatly improves battery performance. The coating helps sodium ions move faster, reduces damage from harmful chemical reactions, and improves stability over many charge–discharge cycles. Batteries with about 3% coating charged faster, lasted longer, and worked well even at very high or low temperatures, making sodium-ion batteries more practical for real-world energy storage.
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Why is it important?
As the world shifts toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, better ways to store electricity are urgently needed. Batteries play a key role here, but today’s most common batteries - lithium-ion batteries - rely on lithium, which is expensive, unevenly distributed around the world, and limited in supply. Sodium-ion batteries are an attractive alternative because sodium is abundant, inexpensive, and widely available.
Perspectives
Overall, this research shows that a simple surface treatment can greatly improve sodium-ion battery performance. By making these batteries faster, more durable, and more stable, this approach brings sodium-ion technology closer to real-world use in large-scale energy storage, such as for renewable energy grids or low-cost electric transportation.
Jose L. Tirado
Universidad de Cordoba
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Unlocking the performance of sodium-ion batteries by coating Na3V2(PO4)3 with Nb2O5, Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica, September 2025, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100180.
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