IOM3 Vanadium Award Paper Highlights Higher-energy Sodium-ion Cathodes Enabled by Vanadium
Date: 19 Jan 2026 |
Vanitec is pleased to highlight the 2024 Vanadium Award paper, “Obtaining V₂(PO₄)₃ by Sodium Extraction from Single-Phase NaₓV₂(PO₄)₃ (1 < x < 3) Positive Electrode Materials” by Sunkyu Park, Ziliang Wang, Kriti Choudhary, Jean-Noël Chotard, Dany Carlier, François Fauth, Pieremanuele Canepa, Laurence Croguennec, and Christian Masquelier, published in Nature Materials (Vol. 24, No. 2, 2025, pp. 234–242).
The Vanadium Award was presented during the IOM3 Premier Awards Christmas Dinner on Thursday 4 December 2025, recognising outstanding published research that advances understanding and applications of vanadium.
The authors report single-phase NaₓV₂(PO₄)₃ compositions (1.5 ≤ x ≤ 2.5) obtained via a straightforward route—mixing the two end members Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ and Na₁V₂(PO₄)₃ in selected ratios and annealing at moderate temperatures (500–550 °C). This enables unusual single-phase sodium extraction/insertion with a continuous (sloping) voltage profile, rather than the familiar two-phase plateau behaviour often associated with conventional Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ cathodes.
Crucially, the study shows that deintercalation from single-phase Na₂V₂(PO₄)₃ can achieve a higher average operating voltage—~3.70 V vs Na⁺/Na—by activating the V⁴⁺/V⁵⁺ redox couple, compared with 3.37 V for conventional Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ (primarily V³⁺/V⁴⁺). In energy terms, the authors report an increase in theoretical energy density from 396.3 Wh kg⁻¹ to 458.1 Wh kg⁻¹, alongside evidence that electrochemical and chemical deintercalation pathways can enable more complete sodium extraction, further supporting higher energy density.
Beyond energy density, the paper reports encouraging kinetic and cycling indicators, including low overpotentials (~10–30 mV) across the voltage window and strong rate response (tested up to high C-rates), underscoring the promise of these vanadium phosphate frameworks for real-world battery operation.
This work also reinforces several broader advantages that make vanadium a compelling element in advanced energy materials:
- Multi-valence redox chemistry: Vanadium can access multiple oxidation states (e.g., V³⁺/V⁴⁺/V⁵⁺), enabling higher voltages and the potential for greater energy per unit mass when the redox couples can be practically activated and stabilised.
- Robust polyanion frameworks: Vanadium phosphates in NASICON-type structures are valued for structural stability and longevity, while offering design flexibility through composition control and site occupancy—features central to the single-phase behaviour demonstrated in the study.
- A bridge from metallurgy to modern electrochemistry: Vanadium’s long-standing importance in steels and high-performance alloys is now complemented by a growing role in energy storage materials—illustrating vanadium’s versatility across decarbonisation technologies.
About the Vanadium Award
The Vanadium Award was endowed by Vanitec in 1981 to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery of vanadiumby Swedish scientist Nils Gabriel Sefström. Following institutional mergers over subsequent decades, the award is now administered by IOM3 (the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining). It is presented annually to the authors of the best published paper and includes a cash prize.