High-performance graphene/disodium terephthalate electrodes with ether electrolyte for exceptional cooperative sodiation/desodiation

Organic electrode materials are usually highly soluble, less conductive and highly irreversible. These drawbacks result in the low utilization and poor performance of organic materials in sodium-ion batteries. In this work, a self-assembled graphene/disodium terephthalate (Na 2 TP) electrode with exceptionally high loadings of Na 2 TP (up to 88.60%) shows dramatically enhanced electrical conductivity and sodium storage performances in ether electrolytes. The strong confinement of Na 2 TP by graphene and the interfacial modification by ether combinationally improve the kinetics of sodiation/desodiation. This cooperative electrode/electrolyte configuration achieves a high reversible capacity of 245 mAh g −1 with an extraordinary initial Coulombic efficiency of 82.3%, which outperforms the state-of-the-art of organic anodes. • A free-standing Na 2 TP/G electrode with exceptionally high loadings of Na 2 TP (88.60%) shows dramatically enhanced electrical conductivity. • The interfacial modification by ether electrolyte improves the kinetics of sodiation/desodiation from two-step to one-step. • It achieves a high reversible capacity of 245 mAh g −1 with an ICE of 82.3%.