A Cation and Anion Dual Doping Strategy for the Elevation of Titanium Redox Potential for High-Power Sodium-Ion Batteries

Titanium-based polyanions have been intensively investigated for sodium-ion batteries owing to their superior structural stability and thermal safety. However, their low working potential hindered further applications. Now, a cation and anion dual doping strategy is used to boost the redox potential of Ti-based cathodes of Na₃Ti_0.5V_0.5(PO₃)₃N as a new cathode material for sodium ion batteries. Both the Ti³⁺/Ti⁴⁺ and V³⁺/V⁴⁺ redox couples are reversibly accessed, leading to two distinctive voltage platforms at ca. 3.3 V and ca. 3.8 V, respectively. The remarkably improved cycling stability (86.3 %, 3000 cycles) can be ascribed to the near-zero volume strain in this unusual cubic symmetry, which has been demonstrated by in situ synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction. First-principles calculations reveal its well-interconnected 3D Na diffusion pathways with low energy barriers, and the two-sodium-extracted intermediate NaTi_0.5V_0.5(PO₃)₃N is also a stable phase according to formation energy calculations.