Will sodium-ion battery replace Li-ion battery?

    Not satisfied with changing the appearance of lithium battery, John Goodenough, father of Li-ion battery, has now organized an international team of scientists at the University of Texas, US. Currently, the team has claimed that the mineral eldfellite ( NaFe(SO4)₂) could be regarded as a potential cathode for sodium-ion battery. This significant discovery has been published on an online Journal called Eldfellite. The title of the paper is “NaFe(SO4)₂: Embedded Cathode for Low-cost Sodium-ion Batteries”.
    Eldfellite (NaFe(SO4)₂) is composed of Na⁺ layers and Fe³⁺ layers, and is separated at a fixed distance by SO4^2-polyhedral. 80% of the material’s theoretical maximum specific capacity might be achieved because the fixed spaces allow the diffusion of sodium ions.
    Preetam Singh, a scientist of the research team, said that the problem at present is the size of the sodium ion, because the sodium–sodium interaction is much stronger than Lithium-Lithium interaction. If they simply duplicate li-ion technology by directly replacing lithium with sodium in the chemical structure of cathode and electrolyte, favorable ratio performance will not be achieved.
    Li-ion batteries bring us convenience, such as mobile phones and electric vehicles. However, the limited supply of lithium has caused the high cost of li-ion batteries and EVs, and has confined the application of the technology.
    In view of the deficiency of lithium, researchers are trying to solve the problem through replacing lithium with sodium, for sodium-ion battery could also reach 100% discharge rate and is safer than lithium-ion battery on transportation.