IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,725,792
Granted Patent B2
US 12,725,792 · App. 18/033,780 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Doped sodium anode, battery having a doped sodium anode, and methods of use thereof

Inventors: Yingwen Cheng (Sycamore, IL); Tao Xu (Naperville, IL)
Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
H01M4/381H01M4/134H01M4/387H01M2004/027H01M10/0568H01M10/0569
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,725,792
App. No.
18/033,780
Granted
Sep 1, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An anode of a battery comprises sodium metal, and a dopant, in the sodium metal. The anode has a thickness of at most 80 μm, and the dopant is a metal with an electronegativity greater than sodium. A battery includes an anode, an anode charge collecting element in contact with the anode, a cathode, a cathode charge collecting element in contact with the cathode, an electrolyte in contact with the anode and the cathode, and a housing, enclosing the anode, anode charge colleting element, cathode, cathode charge collecting element and electrolyte. The anode in the battery comprises sodium metal doped with a dopant, and the dopant is present in an amount of 0.01 to 1.0 atomic percent.

Claims (42)

1 . An anode, comprising:

sodium metal, and

a dopant, in the sodium metal,

wherein the anode has a thickness of at most 450 μm, the dopant is a metal with an electronegativity greater than the electronegativity of sodium, and the dopant is present in an amount of 0.01 to 1.0 atomic percent.

2 . A method of making the anode of claim 1 , comprising:

melting sodium metal,

introducing a dopant metal into the sodium metal to form molten doped sodium metal,

solidifying the doped sodium metal, and

forming the doped sodium metal into a foil having a thickness of at most 450 μm.

3 . A battery comprising:

an anode,

an anode charge collecting element in contact with the anode,

a cathode,

a cathode charge collecting element in contact with the cathode,

an electrolyte in contact with the anode and the cathode, and

a housing, enclosing the anode, the anode charge collecting element, the cathode, the cathode charge collecting element and the electrolyte,

wherein the anode comprises sodium metal doped with a dopant, and the dopant is present in an amount of 0.01 to 1.0 atomic percent.

4 . A method of generating electrical power with the battery of claim 3 , comprising: connecting the anode and cathode of the battery to an external load to complete a circuit.

5 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the dopant is present in an amount of 0.1 to 0.3 atomic percent.

6 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the anode has a thickness of at most 30 μm.

7 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the dopant comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of: antimony, indium, lead, bismuth, thallium, and tin.

8 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the dopant comprises tin.

9 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the anode passes the resistance stability test.

10 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the anode has a body centered cubic crystal structure.

11 . The battery of claim 3 , further comprising a separator in the housing.

12 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the electrolyte is liquid.

13 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the electrolyte comprises

a salt, selected from the group consisting of: NaPF 6 , NaBF 4 , NaClO 4 , and mixtures thereof, and

a solvent, selected from the group consisting of carbonates, ethers and mixtures thereof.

14 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the anode charge collecting element and the cathode charge collecting element comprise a material independently selected from the group consisting of: copper, aluminum, steel and combinations thereof.

15 . The anode of claim 1 , wherein the anode has a thickness of at most 15 μm.

16 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the salt comprises NaPF 6 ,

the solvent comprises ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate, and

the cathode comprises Mo 6 S 8 .

17 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the battery retains at least 70% capacity after 800 cycles.

18 . A method of making the battery of claim 3 , comprising assembling the battery in dry air.

19 . The anode of claim 5 , wherein the anode has a thickness of at most 30 μm, and the dopant comprises tin.

20 . The battery of claim 13 , wherein:

the anode has a thickness of at most 30 μm,

the dopant comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of: antimony, indium, lead, bismuth, thallium, and tin,

the dopant is present in an amount of 0.1 to 0.3 atomic percent, and

the battery retains at least 70% capacity after 800 cycles.

Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63109243 · Nov 3, 2020
Related Publication 20230335724A1 · Oct 19, 2023
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