Sodiation‐Desodiation Cycling: Surface‐Coating‐Mediated Electrochemical Performance in CuO Nanowires during the Sodiation–Desodiation Cycling (Adv. Mater. Interfaces 4/2018)

The effects of surface coating on the CuO-based electrode in sodium ion batteries are investigated in real time in article 1701255 by He Zheng, Jianbo Wang and co-workers. It is found that coating layer can effectively constrain the morphology evolution of electrode material with the insertion of Na+ ions as well as increase the electrochemical reaction speed. In the cover picture, the background represents the ocean with substantial sodium resources and the cyan spheres represent the Na+ ions. The atomic model shows the anisotropic expansion of the CuO-based electrode induced by the surface-coating during the charging/discharging processes (indicated by the two lightning) in the sodium ion battery.