journal article·2026-02-13

Thermoformable Electrolytes for Solid-State Sodium Metal Batteries Employing Organic Cathodes

Dong-Min Kim, Gan Chen, Michael A. Baird, Livia Pugens Matte, Youngmin Ko, Carson O. Zellmann-Parrotta, Jiwoong Bae, Zhaoyang Chen, Yan Yao, Mary C. Scott, Ying Chen, Brett A. Helms

ACS Energy Letters· Volume 11· Issue 2
Publisher page

Abstract

Solid-state sodium metal batteries (SSBs) are candidates for TWh-scale energy storage systems, yet remain challenged by poor processability, cracking, and interface incoherence between inorganic electrolytes and cathodes. Here, we architect thermoformable organo–ionic (ORION) electrolytes comprising controllably clustered ion aggregates within a zwitterionic matrix to create SSBs with organic cathodes. ORION electrolytes are viscoelastic liquids above 110 °C, yet they are viscoelastic solids at typical battery operating temperatures, which overcome the aforementioned challenges. We introduced ether ligands to tailor Na + -ion coordination environments and transport over 3 orders of magnitude (3.4 × 10 –3 – 1.0 mS cm –1 ), whereupon we observed monotonic increases in Na + mobility with increasing coordination number (up to 2.5); yet the fraction of mobile ions decreased. Thus, ligands dissociate Na + from larger ion clusters and aggregates, prescribe what the effective mass of Na + will be, and how Na + will move within the zwitterionic matrix via vehicular diffusion.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies · Thermal Expansion and Ionic Conductivity · Advancements in Battery Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States

Energy Storage Research Alliance, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States

Department of Chemistry

University of California

National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

University of California Berkeley

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Houston

Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH)

Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States

Funding

Basic Energy Sciences

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