title: A class of liquid anode for rechargeable batteries with ultralong cycle life.
abstract: Low cost, highly efficient and safe devices for energy storage have long been desired in our society. Among these devices, electrochemical batteries with alkali metal anodes have attracted worldwide attention. However, the practical application of such systems is limited by dendrite formation and low cycling efficiency of alkali metals. Here we report a class of liquid anodes fabricated by dissolving sodium metal into a mixed solution of biphenyl and ethers. Such liquid anodes are highly safe and have a low redox potential of 0.09 V versus sodium, exhibiting a high conductivity of 1.2 × 10-2S cm-1. When coupled with polysulfides dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide as the cathode, a battery is demonstrated to sustain over 3,500 cycles without measureable capacity loss at room temperature. This work provides a base for exploring a family of liquid anodes for rechargeable batteries that potentially meet the requirements for grid-scale electrical energy storage.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Juezhi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Sheng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8430-6474
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8659-086X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xuejie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory for New Energy Materials and Devices, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Liquan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen