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Vol. 18 (2026)

Manipulating Interphase Chemistry by Endogenous Doping Toward High-Performance Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02124-9
Hang Li
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Yuan Zhou
Science and Technology Project Service Center of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, People’s Republic of China
Yutian Yang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Yining Chen
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Yuying Zhang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Zhe Wang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Quan Zong
College of Materials and Chemistry, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Guozhao Fang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Shuang Zhou
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Anqiang Pan
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Electronic Packaging and Advanced Functional Materials of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Anqiang Pan

pananqiang@csu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 276

Abstract

The practical of hard carbon (HC) anodes in sodium-ion batteries is primarily limited by their unsatisfactory initial coulombic efficiency (ICE), cycling stability and rate performance, which are closely related to their interphase chemistry and microstructure. Herein, a unique manipulating interphase chemistry strategy by endogenous N/S doping is proposed to simultaneously achieve the both issues. Specifically, a series of reducing sugars and amino acid have been proven to trigger the Maillard reaction, thereby enabling endogenous N/S doping and microstructural design for HC anodes. Endogenous doping facilitates the formation of an inorganic-enriched solid–electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on cycled HC, which can effectively accelerate ion transport kinetics and reduce side effects for enhanced rate, ICE, cycling performance and reversible capacity. Meanwhile, the increase in the number of closed pores boosts both the platform capacity and cycling stability of HC. Consequently, the features HC anodes demonstrate a splendid reversible capacity (363 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1), superior cycling performance (over 2500 cycles with 79% retention at 5.0 A g−1) and adequate ICE (89%). The assembled full cell with Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode exhibits splendid cycling stability over 700 cycles with capacity retention of 89.2% at 1 C. Surprisingly, the pouch cell with high cathode mass loading of 20.7 mg cm−1 maintains 98.1% capacity retention after 175 cycles at 1 C. This strategy provides new ideas and insights for the design and screening of high-performance HC anodes.


Highlights:
1 Based on the Maillard reaction principle, an endogenous doping strategy was developed to induce the formation of a rich-inorganic solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on a hard carbon anode.
2 The hard carbon anode with inorganic-enriched SEI layer delivers enhanced rate, high initial coulombic efficiency and stable cycling performance.
3 The assembled full cell with a Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode exhibits excellent cycling stability over 700 cycles, achieving a capacity retention of 89.2% at 1 C with an N/P ratio of 1.12.

Keywords

Hard carbon Sodium-ion batteries Maillard reaction Endogenous doping Micropore structure Solid–electrolyte interface layer
Li, Hang, Yuan Zhou, Yutian Yang, Yining Chen, Yuying Zhang, Zhe Wang, Quan Zong, Guozhao Fang, Shuang Zhou, and Anqiang Pan. 2026. “Manipulating Interphase Chemistry by Endogenous Doping Toward High-Performance Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (March):276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02124-9.
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