Zinc-ion
batteries are promising power sources, but their practical
application is impeded by the Zn dendrite growth and side reactions
at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Here, we report that such
issues can be effectively addressed by a self-healable hydrogel electrolyte.
The electrolyte is comprised of carboxyl-modified poly(vinyl alcohol)
cross-linked by COO–Fe bonding in the presence of Zn(NO3)2 and MnSO4. A quasi-solid-state Zn–MnO2 battery using the electrolyte delivers a specific capacity
up to 177 mAh g–1 after 1000 cycles with a retention
rate of 83%, which is much better than its equivalent using an aqueous
electrolyte. The improvement is attributed to efficient suppression
of the dendrite growth and side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte
by the hydrogel electrolyte. More importantly, the battery autonomously
recovery its energy-storage functions even after multiple physical
damages, showing excellent robustness and reliability. The present
investigation provides an effective strategy to address the energy-storage
performance and reliability of a light-metal battery system.
Poor
stability is a long-standing problem preventing the practical
application of Li metal anodes, which is fundamentally attributed
to their fragile solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers that are
intrinsically neither adaptable to the dynamic volume change nor self-healable
after breakage. Here a Li metal anode is effectively stabilized by
in situ integrating its SEI layer into a self-healable polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS) network cross-linked via imine bonding. The self-healing network
enables the integrated SEI layer to readily accommodate the volume
change but also to repair itself after breaking. Consequently, the
resulting anode exhibits excellent cycling stability and a dendrite-free
morphology. In a Li/LiFePO4 full cell, this strategy leads
to capacity retention up to 99% and a Coulombic efficiency >99.5%
after 300 cycles. Our investigation provides a novel self-healing
strategy for developing stable Li-metal anodes aiming at high energy-density
batteries.
Reliability and safety are critical issues for portable power sources aiming for next-generation electronics. However, most lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) will fail to work or will cause safety problems after physical damage or violent deformation. Here, an omni-healable aqueous LIB, which can self-repair its electrodes and electrolyte simultaneously after mechanical breakage, is fabricated by integrating all of the electroactive components into polymer networks cross-linked by dynamic borate ester bonding. Once suffering from repeated cutoffs, the battery quickly recovers its configuration integrity as well as mechanical and electrochemical properties autonomously without external stimuli. Furthermore, the battery can also be tailored into complicated patterns while maintaining its lithium-storage properties. The present investigation offers a strategy to design a smart and sustainable energy-storage device that has potential applications in wearable/flexible electronics, flexible robot or intelligent apparel, and so on.
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