Xia, W.; Chen, Y.; Wang, W.; Lu, Y.; Chen, Y.; Chen, M.; Yang, X.; Gao, P.; Shu, H.; Wang, X.: Enhanced catalytic activity of Co-CoO via VC0.75 heterostructure enables fast redox kinetics of polysulfides in Lithium-Sulfur batteries. Chemical Engineering Journal 458 (2023), p. 141477/1-8
10.1016/j.cej.2023.141477
Abstract:
Metallic Zn anode is plagued by severe side reactions and dendrite growth, preventing the commercial devel- opment of Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs). Semi-solid state hydrogel electrolyte has received immense attention in aqueous Zn-ion batteries due to their intrinsic advantages (e.g., wider electrochemical windows, good interfacial compatibility, and multi-functional applications). However, their inferior ionic conductivity and mechanical deformation tolerance are the main barriers to realizing the true application in ZIBs. Herein, a hydrogel elec- trolyte with high ionic conductivity and high flexibility is fabricated through sulfonated chitosan and further cross-linking with polyacrylamide. Accordingly, the ion conductivity of the hydrogel electrolyte increases from 28.2 to 38.1 mS cm 1, whilst tensile strength is elevated from 19.1 to 54.2 kPa. With this hydrogel electrolyte, the Zn||Zn symmetric cells show exceptional cycle stability over 2600 h at the current density of 1 mA cm 2, and the Zn||Cu asymmetric cells demonstrate nearly 100 % coulomb efficiency over 1200 cycles. In addition, NH4V4O10||Zn full cells enable capacity retention of as high as 96.1 % even over 500 cycles, and the as- assembled flexible batteries can stand bending, twisting, and cutting operation without comprising the elec- trochemical performance.