Ce-substituted P2-type layered cathode with interfacial/ bulk stability for sodium ion batteries

Addressing a changing energy environment, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as one of the most potentially applicable energy resources in the world. Nevertheless, its further application is hindered owing to high degree of interfacial degradation and structural changes, which caused rapid capacity fading. Herein, a novel Ce modified P2-type layered structure cathode material Na0.67Mn0.8Co0.17Ce0.03O2 @ CeO2 is introduced, the stability of cell is improved by simultaneous bulk doping and surface coating in one scalable step. The doping of Ce4+ increases sodium ion transport rate by shrinking transition metal layer ions and expanding Na layer spacing. Irreversible phase transition can be mitigated from the stronger the bond energy between TM and O, which is conducive to the decrease in the Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio, and suppression of the Jahn−Teller distortion. Besides, the doping of larger radius Ce4+ extends the internal paths of crystal structure, which decreases the barrier of Na+, correspondingly, the Na+ diffusion rate was increased. Meanwhile, the CeO2 coating layer effectively inhibits parasitic reactions on the surface and improves the stability of the interface. Which display excellent capacity with a remarkable retention of 86.9 % after 100 cycles at 0.5 C and outstanding discharge rate performance of 87 mA h g−1 at 20 C. This study provides a simple process to concurrently stabilize the bulk structure and interface for the future application for sodium-ion batteries.