Ex Situ Muon Spectroscopy Investigation of Na+ Diffusion in Prototypic Sodium-ion Cathode Materials

The ever-increasing demand for low carbon energy storage has motivated global research efforts to design, develop, and optimise batteries with lower cost, longer life, and higher energy and power density. Na-ion technology is regarded as a good complimentary battery system to Li-ion, and layered oxide cathode materials NaxMO2 have the greatest potential for commercialisation. We request 4 days on EMU to study and contrast the diffusion rates of sodium ions in the four prototypic layered sodium-ion battery cathode materials labelled O3, P2, P3 and O2. This proposal is part of a fundamental, combined experimental and computational approach where muon spectroscopy, high resolution powder diffraction and electrochemical measurements will be used to corroborate the atomistic models of sodium-ion diffusion obtained from non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). This research underpins our challenge to discover the highest power density high-performance batteries.