比锂便宜，性能相当——钠电池终于赶上来了

All-solid-state batteries offer a safer and more powerful way to run electric vehicles, power electronics, and store renewable energy from the grid. However, their key ingredient, lithium, is both costly and scarce, and mining it often causes serious environmental harm.
全固态电池为电动汽车、电子设备供电以及电网存储可再生能源提供了一种更安全、更强大的方式。然而，其关键成分锂不仅成本高昂且稀缺，挖矿过程还常常造成严重的环境危害。

Sodium presents a much cheaper and more abundant alternative, and it is far less damaging to extract. Yet, sodium-based solid-state batteries have long struggled to match lithium's performance at typical temperatures.
钠是一种更便宜、更丰富的替代品，而且开采破坏性小得多。然而，钠基固态电池长期以来在典型温度下难以match锂的性能。

"It's not a matter of sodium versus lithium. We need both. When we think about tomorrow's energy storage solutions, we should imagine the same gigafactory can produce products based on both lithium and sodium chemistries," said Y. Shirley Meng, Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME). "This new research gets us closer to that ultimate goal while advancing basic science along the way."
"这不是钠与锂的对立问题。我们需要两者并存。在构想未来储能解决方案时，应当设想同一座超级工厂能同时生产基于锂化学和钠化学的产品，"芝加哥大学普利兹克分子工程学院（UChicago PME）Liew Family分子工程学教授Y. Shirley Meng表示，"这项新研究让我们更接近终极目标，同时在此过程中推动基础科学发展。"

A new study from Meng's group, published in Joule, takes a major step toward solving that issue. The researchers developed a sodium-based solid-state battery that performs reliably from room temperature to below freezing, setting a new benchmark for the field.
孟课题组在《焦耳》期刊发表的新研究为解决该问题迈出重要一步。研究人员开发出一种钠基固态电池，其性能在室温至零下环境中均稳定可靠，为该领域树立了新标杆。

According to first author Sam Oh of the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore, who conducted the work while visiting Meng's Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion, the results bring sodium technology much closer to competing with lithium on electrochemical performance.
根据在新加坡科技研究局材料研究与工程研究所访问孟氏能源存储与转换实验室期间开展此项研究的第一作者Sam Oh所述，该成果使钠技术在电化学性能方面更接近与锂竞争的水平。

The achievement also represents a fundamental advance in materials science.
这一成就也代表了材料科学领域的一项重大进展。

"The breakthrough that we have is that we are actually stabilizing a metastable structure that has not been reported," Oh said. "This metastable structure of sodium hydridoborate has a very high ionic conductivity, at least one order of magnitude higher than the one reported in the literature, and three to four orders of magnitude higher than the precursor itself."
“我们的突破在于，实际上我们稳定了一种未被报道过的亚稳态结构，”Oh表示。“这种氢硼化钠的亚稳态结构具有极高的离子电导率，比文献记载的至少高出一个数量级，比前驱体本身高出三到四个数量级。”

Established technique, new field
成熟技术，新领域

To create this structure, the researchers heated a metastable form of sodium hydridoborate until it began to crystallize, then cooled it rapidly to lock the structure in place. The method is well known in other areas of materials science but had not previously been used for solid electrolytes, Oh said.
为了构建这种结构，研究人员将一种亚稳态氢硼化钠加热至开始结晶，然后快速冷却以锁定其结构。Oh表示，这种方法在材料科学的其他领域已广为人知，但此前从未用于固态电解质。

That practical familiarity could make it easier to transition the discovery from laboratory research to industrial production.
这种实践经验可以更容易地将发现从实验室研究过渡到工业生产。

"Since this technique is established, we are better able to scale up in future," Oh said. "If you are proposing something new or if there's a need to change or establish processes, then industry will be more reluctant to accept it."
"由于这项技术已经确立，我们未来能更好地扩大规模，"Oh说。"如果你提出新东西，或者需要改变或确立流程，那么行业会更不愿意接受。"

Pairing that metastable phase with a O3-type cathode that has been coated with a chloride-based solid electrolyte can create thick, high-areal-loading cathodes that puts this new design beyond previous sodium batteries. Unlike design strategies with a thin cathode, this thick cathode would pack less of the inactive materials and more cathode "meat."
将这种亚稳态相与涂覆有氯化物基固体电解质的O3型阴极配对，可以制造出厚实、高面积负载的阴极，从而使这一新设计超越以往的钠电池。与采用薄阴极的设计策略不同，这种厚阴极将减少非活性材料的比例，增加阴极的“有效部分”。

"The thicker the cathode is, the theoretical energy density of the battery -- the amount of energy being held within a specific area -- improves," Oh said.
“阴极越厚，电池的理论能量密度——即特定区域内储存的能量——就越高，”Oh说。

The current research advances sodium as a viable alternative for batteries, a vital step to combat the rarity and environmental damage of lithium. It's one of many steps ahead.
当前研究将钠确立为电池的可行替代品，这是对抗锂的稀有性和环境破坏的关键一步，未来仍需迈出更多步伐。

"It's still a long journey, but what we have done with this research will help open up this opportunity," Oh said.
"这仍然是一段漫长的旅程，但我们通过这项研究为开拓首次去中心化发行（IDO）机会奠定了基础，"Oh表示。