Electrode Nanomaterials for Room Temperature Sodium-Ion Batteries: A Review

Energy storage and conversion has becoming key issues because of the increasing demand for electronic devices. Lithium-ion batteries have dominated the portable electronics industry over the past decades and are now powering zero-emission vehicles owing to their high energy density. However, the availability of lithium resources, price as well as safety issues of lithium ion batteries are now becoming the main challenges that hinder their widespread applications. Room temperature sodium-ion batteries have been considered as one of potential candidates because of the abundance of metal sodium, its low cost and the similarity of both Li and Na insertion chemistries. This review will present up-to-date nanomaterial advancements of sodium-ion batteries published. Potential negative electrodes include carbon based-anodes, titanium based-anodes and alloy anodes. Positive electrodes include oxides, polyanion compounds as well as other materials. The advantages and limitations of these materials will be discussed, along with the development in electrolyte that has been explored.