Key Preparation Technology for Hard Carbon-Based Composited Anode and Its Application in Sodium-ion Battery

Aim and objective: This project aims to address the issues of limited capacity and high temperature in conventional hard carbon material preparation via inverse materials design and its experimental realization. Specifically, the goal is to develop a low-temperature macro-preparation technology for hard carbon, optimize its design, and create a new flame-retardant electrolyte for Na-ion batteries. This will lead to a high-performance hard carbon-based sodium-ion battery system, contributing to sustainable large-scale energy storage solutions. The project combines the expertise of Polish and Chinese researchers to optimize hard carbon-based microstructure, study the intrinsic relationship between thermodynamic behavior and safety performance, and develop a low-cost, high-performance hard carbon anode material and soft pack sodium-ion battery.

Specific objectives include:

  • High-throughput screening of metal-based catalysts to lower hard carbon graphitization potential and achieve microstructure modulation and low-temperature macro-preparation.

  • Improve sodium storage capacity of hard carbon through heterogeneous atom doping and in situ composite hybridization, optimizing electrochemical performance.

  • Modify electrolytes at a molecular scale to enhance stability, voltage window, ionic conductivity, and mechanical strength, ensuring stable operation of high safety and high-performance sodium-ion batteries.

  • Design and prepare low-temperature hard carbon composite negative electrodes, construct high-specific energy soft pack batteries, and assess the connection between thermodynamic changes and battery safety and cycling stability.

Polish principial investigator - Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi

Dr. Malyi obtained his B.S. and master's degrees in Physics from Cherkasy National University in Ukraine. He graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore) with a Ph.D. in Materials Science (2013), developing a fundamental understanding of anode materials for solid oxide fuel cells under the guidance of Prof. Chen Zhong. Following his Ph.D., he was a postdoc/researcher/research associate in Singapore (Prof. Xiaodong Chen’s group and Prof. Sergei Manzhos’s group), Norway (Prof. Clas Persson’s group), and USA (Prof. Alex Zunger’s group). He established the Inverse Materials Design group in 2022 at Ensemble3 Center of Excellence, Poland. Since then, the group extended beyond Poland.

So far, he has published more than 95 scientific articles in the field of solid-state physics, including Chem. Rev., Mat. Today, Matter, App. Phys. Rev., Phys. Rev. Lett., Sci. Adv., Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem., Adv. Energy Mater., Small, etc., cited over 3700 times, H index=34.

Chinese principial investigator - Prof. Yuxin Tang

Dr. Tang, a national high-level overseas young talent, is a professor at the College of Chemical Engineering in Fuzhou University, and he is a member of Prof. Bao Xiaojun's research team. He obtained his B.S. degree in applied chemistry and M.S. degree in materials science at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2006 and 2009, respectively, under the guidance of Prof. Tao Jie. He graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore) with a Ph.D. in Materials science (2013), developing functional materials for environmental protection under the guidance of Prof. Dong Zhili and Prof. Chen Zhong. After that, he joined Prof. Chen Xiaodong's group as a postdoctoral fellow at the NTU, working on advanced functional materials for energy conversion and storage application. In 2018, he joined the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME) at the University of Macau as an Assistant Professor. 

So far, he has published more than 110 scientific articles in the field of materials chemistry including Sci. Adv., JACS, EES, Nat. Commun., Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem., Chem. Soc. Rev., Adv. Energy Mater., Adv. Funct. Mater., Small, etc., cited over 10000 times, H index=55, authorized 1 US patent and 1 Singapore patent, 5 US patent applications (including 3 patent assignments).

Project call: 3rd Polish-Chinese bilateral competition (NCBR)

Project budget: 2,338,125 PLN for Polish side (total joint project budget - 1.1 million euro)

Project duration: Expected 2024-2027, recommended for funding

Principial Investigator: Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi (Polish side)

Principal Investigator: Prof. Yuxin Tang (Chinese side)

Industry Partner: Zoolnasm