Inducing Na⁺ Site Rearrangement Through a Cosubstitution Strategy for Rapid Na Diffusion Kinetics of P2-Type Layered Metal Oxides

The P2-layered metal oxide cathode materials are crucial for constructing high-rate sodium-ion batteries (SIBs); however, its practical application is hindered by the high Na + diffusion barrier resulting from Na + /vacancy ordering. Herein, a Li/Zn cosubstitution P2–Na 0.67 Ni 0.33 Mn 0.67 O 2 (NLNZM) cathode was synthesized via a sol–gel method assisted with citric acid, which can induce the rearrangement of Na + sites to disrupt ordered structures. The XRD Rietveld refinement confirms a higher occupancy of Na + at Na e sites with low diffusion barriers through the Li/Zn cosubstitution. In addition, the highly reversible phase evolution of the NLNZM is confirmed through in situ XRD results, thereby ensuring the stability of the structure with low volume change rate (0.78%). Furthermore, Li and Zn can reduce the surface energy and increase the interlayered distance to achieve rapid interfacial kinetics. As a result, the NLNZM has exhibited a high reversible capacity of 152.8 mAh g –1 and an outstanding rate performance of 103.4 mAh g –1 at 5C. After 200 cycles at 5C, the capacity retention rate is 81.1%. This work proposes a cosubstitution strategy to induce Na + /vacancy disorder for achieving rapid Na + migration as a cathode material for SIBs.