Transition metal oxides as a cathode for indispensable Na-ion batteries

Abstract

The essential requirement to harness well-known renewable energy sources like wind energy, solar energy, etc. as a component of an overall plan to guarantee global power sustainability will require highly efficient, high power and energy density batteries to collect the derived electrical power and balance out variations in both supply and demand. Owing to the continuous exhaustion of fossil fuels, and ever increasing ecological problems associated with global warming, there is a critical requirement for searching for an alternative energy storage technology for a better and sustainable future. Electrochemical energy storage technology could be a solution for a sustainable source of clean energy. Sodium-ion battery (SIB) technology having a complementary energy storage mechanism to the lithium-ion battery (LIB) has been attracting significant attention from the scientific community due to its abundant resources, low cost, and high energy densities. Layered transition metal oxide (TMO) based materials for SIBs could be a potential candidate for SIBs among all other cathode materials. In this paper, we discussed the latest improvement in the various structures of the layered oxide materials for SIBs. Moreover, their synthesis, overall electrochemical performance, and several challenges associated with SIBs are comprehensively discussed with a stance on future possibilities. Many articles discussed the improvement of cathode materials for SIBs, and most of them have pondered the use of NaxMO2 (a class of TMOs) as a possible positive electrode material for SIBs. The different phases of layered TMOs (NaxMO2; TM = Co, Mn, Ti, Ni, Fe, Cr, Al, V, and a combination of multiple elements) show good cycling capacity, structural stability, and Na+ ion conductivity, which make them promising cathode material for SIBs. This review discusses and summarizes the electrochemical redox reaction, structural transformations, significant challenges, and future prospects to improve for NaxMO2. Moreover, this review highlights the recent advancement of several layered TMO cathode materials for SIBs. It is expected that this review will encourage further development of layered TMOs for SIBs. © 2022 The Royal Society of Chemistry.