Prof. Feng Liang, Associate Professor from the Kunming University of Science and Technology, gave a talk on “Hybrid Sodium–air Battery: Challenges and Opportunities” on 28 November 2017. This talk presented a number of new strategies that have been developed for improving the performance of new class hybrid sodium–air battery. Firstly, dual-phase spinel MnCo2O4 with nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide hybrids (dp-MnCo2O4/N-rGO) was demonstrated to be an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for improving the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in sodium–air batteries. Secondly, Na[FSA]–[C2C1im][FSA] (C2C1im+:1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and FSA–: bis(fluorosulfony)amide) ionic liquid was investigated as the aprotic electrolyte in hybrid sodium–air batteries for the first time to achieve excellent thermal stability and the contact between the sodium metal and anode electrolyte. The results showed that the batteries exhibited an extremely large specific capacity of 835 mAh×g−1 at 50 °C; this capacity corresponds to 99% of the theoretical capacity. Finally, Prof. Liang showed the importance of buffering effect of an acidic solution in hybrid sodium–air battery, which substantially improves the cycling stability of battery.
