Development of a prototype sodium-ion battery with a polymer electrolyte based on ionic liquids

• Grant number: 23/17652-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Roberto Manuel Torresi
• Grantee: Felipe Machado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/00675-4 - Tying up materials for electrochemical energy storage and catalysis, AP.TEM

Abstract

Secondary batteries play a central role in today's society, driven by the growing demand for renewable energy storage devices. In this context, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as potential solutions for large-scale, low-cost stationary energy storage compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, many SIB challenges remain to be overcome, such as increasing coulombic efficiency, safety, and durability. As a possible alternative to this problem, solid-state electrolytes based on ionic liquids, especially polymer electrolytes, have emerged as a possible solution to gain electrochemical performance along with the development of solid-state batteries. In view of this scenario, this Ph.D. proposal aims to develop a prototype pouch-type battery using a polymer electrolyte derived from ionic liquids as one of the main components, which has electrochemical properties and competitive manufacturing for large-scale commercial diffusion. The electrolyte will be synthesized using the innovative Supersonic Solution Blow (SSB) technique, which has shown promise for the simple and large-scale production of polymer nanofibers with controlled dimensions. The electrodes will be made of hard carbon nanofibers, manganese oxide, Prussian blue and Na3V2(PO4)3 previously synthesized by the research group. The aim is to study the performance and properties of the electrolyte and the electrolyte/electrode combination, as well as electrode/electrolyte interfacial phenomena, using various physical-chemical and electrochemical characterization techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission and atomic force microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and others. At the end of the Ph.D., it is expected that the developed prototype will be validated through several electrochemical performance tests, and that the proposal will allow the research group to acquire know-how for the production and characterization of large SIBs, with the long-term goal of becoming a reference in Latin America in this niche. Finally, the proposal is innovative as it has the potential to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of SIBs. In addition, the research will demonstrate the ability to produce solid electrolytes with controlled dimensions and optimize process costs, making SIBs more economical and favoring their large-scale production.