Article

Fast-Charging Reliability of Hard-Carbon Anodes in Sodium-Ion Batteries: Interfacial Stability, Transport Heterogeneity, and Mechanical Integrity

Safa H. RadhieIslamic University of NajafHüseyin KurtDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, TürkiyeZukhra YakhshievaChemistry department, Jizzakh State Pedagogical University. Jizzakh city, UzbekistanKumel K. NagoriDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gokul Global University, Sidhpur, Gujarat, IndiaRanveer SinghDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, IndiaIbrokhim SapaevSchool of Engineering, Central Asian University, Tashkent 111221, UzbekistanAseel SmeratHourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, JordanVikasdeep Singh MannDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, CGC University, Mohali– 140307, Punjab, IndiaPardeep Singh BainsDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Sharda School of Engineering & Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, IndiaShayan AmiriYoung Researchers and Elite Club, Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2026en

ABI

Abstract

Reliable fast charging of sodium-ion batteries is constrained by heterogeneous transport, interfacial degradation, thermal accumulation, and mechanically driven failure in hard-carbon anodes. Here, a two-dimensional microstructure-informed multiphysics framework is developed to quantify the coupled degradation pathways governing porous hard-carbon electrodes under C/20–5 C charging. The model integrates sodium-ion transport, electronic conduction, Butler–Volmer interfacial kinetics, adsorption–insertion–pore-filling storage, SEI growth, heat generation, and sodiation-induced stress within spatially heterogeneous electrodes representing different degrees of carbon structural ordering. The results reveal a critical transition above 1 C, where capacity retention decreases from 80.8% at 1 C to 63.4% at 2 C and 36.0% at 5 C, accompanied by a nonlinear rise in polarization. Spatially resolved analysis shows that fast charging amplifies local current density, accelerates SEI thickening, and promotes thermal and mechanical localization; the current localization factor increases from 1.37 at 1 C to 2.91 at 5 C, while the maximum temperature rise reaches 18.4 K. The maximum Von Mises stress and hard-carbon degradation index identify 2C–5 C operation as degradation-prone despite partial capacity accessibility. Experimental validation against capacity, interfacial resistance, SEI thickness, and temperature rise confirms predictive accuracy. This study establishes localized degradation descriptors for designing fast-charge-compatible hard-carbon anodes with improved transport uniformity and interfacial robustness.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.116106

Citations and references

Cited by 040 references