A method for manufacturing a composite of
sodium-
vanadium fluorophosphate with
amorphous carbon, crystallizing in the NASICON structure, consisting in preparing a
solid, homogeneous and stoichiometric mixture of precursors containing Na+, VO3-, PO43- and F- ions, and counterions undergoing
decomposition into gaseous products at high temperature, which mixture is subjected to
thermal treatment and subsequent homogenisation with a carbon material, characterized in that the
solid homogeneous mixture of precursors, additionally containing an oxidizer and a fuel, is subjected to self-
combustion, and the obtained material is subjected to
grinding with
amorphous carbon with subsequent
thermal treatment, wherein: an oxidizer solution is prepared containing NH4F, (NH4)2HPO4 and NaNO3 in a 3:2:3
molar ratio in deionized water in a PTFE
beaker, with
nitrate anions as the oxidizer, and a fuel solution is prepared containing NH4VO3 and
citric acid in a 3:2
molar ratio in deionized water in a glass
beaker, with
citric acid as the fuel, and after which the oxidizer solution and the fuel solution are simultaneously stirred and heated at temperature of 80°C until the fuel solution turns blue, at which time the fuel solution is added drop by drop to the oxidizer solution with continuous stirring, maintaining a 1:1
molar ratio of NH4VO3 to (NH4)2HPO4, and then the resulting solution is heated at temperature of 80°C until the
solvent is completely evaporated, and the resulting precipitate is heated to a temperature of 150°C until it spontaneously ignites, wherein the green
powder obtained after the
combustion process is dried in a vacuum at a temperature of 120°C for 12 hours, and the dried material is ground with
amorphous carbon in a
mass ratio of 1:14 in a
ball mill at 500 rpm for 5 hours, and the
grinding product is subjected to heat treatment in a
tube furnace in an
inert atmosphere at a temperature of 300°C for 4 hours and then at a temperature of 550°C for 8 hours, as a result of which a
composite material is obtained containing crystallographically pure, single-phase
sodium-
vanadium fluorophosphate, the crystallites of which are covered with amorphous carbon, forming composite particles with a size of 50-200 nm, wherein the
carbon coating has a thickness in the range of 2-20 nm. The
sodium-
vanadium fluorophosphate-amorphous carbon composite obtained by the method of the invention is phase-pure and has a uniform morphology. The self-
combustion method allows for obtaining a
powder with excellent properties for use in sodium-
ion systems, demonstrating high specific capacity and excellent cyclicity.