In recent years, sodium-ion batteries have garnered increasing attention as a new type of electrochemical energy storage technology due to their abundant sodium resources and low cost. The O3-type layered cathode material holds enormous commercial potential because of its simple synthesis process, high theoretical capacity, and sufficient initial sodium content.

However, during the electrochemical process, the complex phase transition accompanied by slow Na+ diffusion kinetics still restricts the performance of O3-type cathodes. The resulting voltage hysteresis phenomenon further leads to material voltage decay and a decrease in energy density, posing significant challenges.

To address the above issues, Professor Wang Pengfei of the School of Electrical Engineering and Associate Professor Gao Zhibin of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) collaborated to develop a novel high-entropy cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.

This cathode material exhibits minimal voltage hysteresis, outstanding rate capabilities at high current densities, and excellent fast-charging and slow-discharging capabilities. Their research underscores the importance of high-entropy structural design for transition metals, providing significant insights for the development of high-energy-density and high-power O3-type layered oxide cathode materials.

Their research, titled "Fast Na+ Kinetics and Suppressed Voltage Hysteresis Enabled by a High-Entropy Strategy for Sodium Oxide Cathodes" was published in Advanced Materials, the top international materials science journal.