With an increasing demand for batteries and a need for more large-scale energy storage systems, there is a push to develop new battery technologies. Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a leading alternative to lithium-ion, as sodium is both cheaper and more widely available than lithium.
The paper A novel sodium-rich double perovskite proves promising for new battery technologies was first published in Chemical Communications.
The use of organic liquid sodium electrolytes raises concerns over safety and the available operating voltage window, but solid-state electrolytes could increase safety and energy density, increase the number of cycles possible and facilitate the use of versatile battery cell geometries.
The researcher group and the ISIS used muon spin relaxation measurements to investigate the transport properties of a novel, sodium-rich double perovskite which is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate.
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source is a world-leading centre for research at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford. Their suite of neutron and muon instruments give unique insights into the properties of materials on the atomic scale.
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source produces beams of neutrons and muons that allow scientists to study materials at the atomic level using a suite of instruments, often described as ‘super-microscopes’. It supports a national and international community of more than 2000 scientists who use neutrons and muons for research in physics, chemistry, materials science, geology, engineering, and biology.