Research progress of carbon as anode materials for sodium-ion storage devices

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used as rechargeable secondary batteries in the market in recent years. However, the shortage of lithium resources may become the biggest obstacle to its large-scale application in the future. Sodium has the advantages of abundant resources and low price. Therefore, among many types of energy storage systems, sodium-ion storage devices are very promising to become the next generation of electrochemical energy storage systems as a replacement for lithium-ion batteries. Electrode materials play a crucial role in the electrochemical performance of sodium-ion storage. However, due to the large radius and mass of sodium ions, the sodiation and desodiation process in the anode materials is more difficult, and the energy density of the sodium-ion storage devices is also relatively low. Therefore, it is of considerable significance to develop anode materials that are both low-cost and high performing to further improve the electrochemical performance of sodium-ion storage devices to promote their large-scale application. Among various anode materials, carbon is regarded as the most commercially viable anode material for sodium-ion storage devices with excellent cycling stability and rate performance due to its unique structure. This paper introduced several types of carbon materials, such as graphite and amorphous carbon, which were under extensive investigation at present. The advantages, problems and some commonly used modification methods of various carbon materials were also presented. Additionally, the research progress of carbon materials in recent years in sodium-ion batteries and sodium-ion capacitors, which were the two main types of sodium-ion storage devices, and the sodium storage mechanism of carbon materials were summarized. Finally, the challenges encountered by carbon materials in the field of sodium-ion storage devices were put forward and the prospects for their potential development were also envisioned. © 2024 Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd.. All rights reserved.