Engineering the structure and chemistry of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on electrode materials is crucial for rechargeable batteries. Using hard carbon (HC) as a platform material, a correlation between Na+ storage performance, and the properties of SEI can be comprehensively explored. It is generally found that an optimized SEI layer on hard carbon may not be directly associated with certain kinds of SEI components, such as NaF and Na2O. Whereas, arranging nano SEI components with refined structures constructs the foundation of better SEI that enables fast Na+ storage and interface stability of HC in Na-ion batteries. RISE will work on certain engineering of the SEI layer for a facile ion transfer through the interface for an elevated performance with high cycling stability.
On the other hand, in the cathode side, RISE will work on various oxide and polyanionic high-capacity cathodes with performance at elevated voltage. Understanding redox chemistry in the metal centre as well as the anion will be primary focus.
