Due to lower costs and higher abundance of
sodium, Na-ion battery technology can offer a good alternative to Li-ion batteries. Much research is focusing on developing new cathode and
anode materials but the importance of the
electrode engineering on the electrochemical performance is often neglected. The
electrode composition is especially crucial for
conversion reaction-based materials where the composite
electrode (active material, conducting additive and binder) has to
buffer the huge volume change occurring upon cycling. This work highlights the differences observed on Sn-CMC
electrode performance by using different Sn particle sizes (micro- and nanoparticles) and evaluating the role of the conductive additive in the
electrode.
Carbon fibers (VGCF) demonstrate a good ability to surround micrometer particles but not especially nanometer particles leading to an improvement in the performance of microparticles but not of nanoparticles. For a high loading
electrode suitable for full cell applications (>3.5 mg/cm(2) of active material), nanometer particles show limited performance for long-term cycling. The combination of VGCF with micrometer particles seems to be the most promising composition to obtain good performances for
conversion reaction based-materials.