Facile Synthesis of a Common Na‐Ion Battery Cathode Material Na3V2(PO4)2F3 by Spark Plasma Sintering

In the pursuit of facile, fast, and efficient methods for the synthesis of various compounds for a variety of applications, spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique is considered to be a powerful and simple tool. Using this technique, a popular cathode material for Na‐ion batteries—Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 F 3 —is synthesized and characterized with X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and is electrochemically tested in Swagelok‐type cells in a galvanostatic mode. The obtained material is compared with the conventionally synthesized (via a solid‐state route) sample. SEM analysis shows 2 times smaller particles in the case of SPS‐synthesized material compared with the solid‐state‐synthesized material which is to be expected from the fast (40 min in total) SPS synthesis that practically excludes grain/particle growth and promotes much faster diffusion, thereby drastically enhancing the reaction kinetics. Electrochemical performance of the SPS‐obtained material shows an improvement in decreasing the overpotential and reducing the capacity loss at high C‐rates (8C).