Rapid Gram-Scale Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Organic Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries with Environmental Impact Assessment

Puscalau, Constantin; Desai, Aamod V.; Lizundia, Erlantz; Ettlinger, Romy; Adam, Mohamed; Morris, Russell; Armstrong, A. Robert; Tokay, Begum; Laybourn, Andrea

Abstract

Development of sustainable synthesis methods of organic electrode materials (OEMs) for sodium (Na)-ion batteries must take hold rapidly in large scale-synthesis if subsequent commercialisation is to occur. We report a facile and rapid gram-scale synthesis method based on microwave irradiation for disodium naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate (Na-NDC) and mono/disodium benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate (Na-BDC) as model compounds. Phase purity and formation of materials was confirmed by various characterisation techniques. The electrochemical performance was tested in both half and full cell formats and compared to material obtained via smaller scale synthesis, revealing state-of-the art performance in terms of capacity retention and cyclability. The environmental impacts upon organic anode synthesis were quantified according to cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The results allow for the identification of environmental hotspots during production, indicating areas for future process optimisation. Interestingly, remarkably reduced impacts are obtained compared to conventional syntheses at milligram scale. Additionally, this work suggests potential significant improvements upon additional upscaling and solvent recycling.

Citation

Puscalau, C., Desai, A. V., Lizundia, E., Ettlinger, R., Adam, M., Morris, R., Armstrong, A. R., Tokay, B., & Laybourn, A. (2025). Rapid Gram-Scale Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Organic Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries with Environmental Impact Assessment. Green Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1039/d4gc05530f

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 20, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 9, 2025
• Journal: Green Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 1463-9262
• Electronic ISSN: 1463-9270
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4gc05530f
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/43953098
• Publisher URL: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2024/GC/D4GC05530F