1,3,6-Hexanetricarbonitrile as electrolyte additive to inhibit sodium dendrites in sodium-metal batteries

Sodium-metal batteries (SMBs) offer substantial competitiveness owing to their wide elemental distribution and high specific capacity. However, SMBs face safety issues such as unstable properties of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) layer due to irregular sodium dendrites. In this paper, we constructed a stable and uniform SEI layer by introducing the 1,3,6-Hexanetricarbonitrile (HTCN) electrolyte additive, replacing the conventional, insoluble nitrate. HTCN facilitates the generation of substances like Na3N with high electrical conductivity on the Na anode surface. This accelerates Na+ shuttling and provides high-flux nucleation sites. Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to elucidate the solvated structure of electrolyte and radial distribution of Na+ after HTCN addition. Moreover, in-situ optical microscopy revealed a stable and robust SEI layer, effectively inhibiting the disorderly growth of sodium dendrites. The superior cycling performance of the Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP)/Na full cell further demonstrates the addition of HTCN.