Modification of polypropylene separator with multifunctional layers to achieve highly stable sodium metal anode

Abstract

Separator modification is an effective approach to suppress dendrite growth to realize high-energy sodium metal batteries (SMBs) in practical applications, however, its success is mainly subject to surface modification. Herein, a separator with multifunctional layers composed of N-doped mesoporous hollow carbon spheres (HCS) as the inner layer and sodium fluoride (NaF) as the outer layer on commercial polypropylene separator (PP) is proposed (PP@HCS-NaF) to achieve stable cycling in SMB. At the molecular level, the inner HCS layer with a high content of pyrrolic-N induces the uniform Na⁺ flux as a potential Na⁺ redistributor for homogenous deposition, whereas its hollow mesoporous structure offers nano-porous buffers and ion channels to regulate Na⁺ ion distribution and uniform deposition. The outer layer (NaF) constructs the NaF-enriched robust solid electrolyte interphase layer, significantly lowering the Na⁺ ions diffusion barrier. Benefiting from these merits, higher electrochemical performances are achieved with multifunctional double-layered PP@HCS-NaF separators compared with single-layered separators (i.e. PP@HCS or PP@NaF) in SMBs. The Na||Cu half-cell with PP@HCS-NaF offers stable cycling (280 cycles) with a high CE (99.6%), and Na||Na symmetric cells demonstrate extended lifespans for over 6000 h at 1 mA cm⁻² with a progressively stable overpotential of 9 mV. Remarkably, in Na||NVP full-cells, the PP@HCS-NaF separator grants a stable capacity of ∼81 mA h g⁻¹ after 3500 cycles at 1 C and an impressive rate capability performance (∼70 mA h g⁻¹ at 15 C).