Superconcentrated NaFSA-KFSA Aqueous Electrolytes for 2 V-Class Dual-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Superconcentrated aqueous electrolytes containing NaN(SO2F)2and KN(SO2F)2(for which sodium and potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amides (FSA), respectively, are abbreviated) have been developed for 2 V-class aqueous batteries. Based on the eutectic composition of the NaFSA-KFSA (56:44 mol/mol) binary system, the superconcentrated solutions of 35 mol kg-1Na0.55K0.45FSA/H2O and 33 mol kg-1Na0.45K0.55FSA/H2O are found to form at 25 °C. As both electrolytes demonstrate a wider potential window of ∼3.5 V compared to that of either saturated 20 mol kg-1NaFSA or 31 mol kg-1KFSA solution, we applied the 33 mol kg-1Na0.45K0.55FSA/H2O to two different battery configurations, carbon-coated Na2Ti2(PO4)3∥K2Mn[Fe(CN)6] and carbon-coated Na3V2(PO4)3∥K2Mn[Fe(CN)6]. The former cell shows highly reversible charge/discharge curves with a mean discharge voltage of 1.4 V. Although the latter cell exhibits capacity degradation, it demonstrates 2 V-class operations. Analysis data of the two cells confirmed that Na+ions were mainly inserted into the negative electrodes passivated by a Na-rich solid electrolyte interphase, and both Na+and K+ions were inserted into the positive electrode. Based upon the observation, we propose new sodium-/potassium-ion batteries using the superconcentrated NaFSA-KFSA aqueous electrolytes.