The development of new battery technologies requires them to be well-established given the competition from lithium ion batteries (LIBs), a well-commercialized technology, and the merits should surpass other available technologies’ characteristics for battery applications. Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) represent a budding technology that can challenge LIBs with respect to electrochemical features because of the safety, low cost, high energy density, long cycle life, high-volume density, and stable water-compatible features of the metal zinc anode. Research on ARZIBs utilizing mild acidic electrolytes is focused on developing cathode materials with complete utilization of their electro-active materials. This progress is, however, hindered by persistent issues and consequences of divergent electrochemical mechanisms, unwanted side reactions, and unresolved proton insertion phenomena, thereby challenging ARZIB commercialization for large-scale energy storage applications. Herein, we broadly review two important cathodes, manganese and vanadium oxides, that are witnessing rapid progress toward developing state-of-the-art ARZIB cathodes.

Micrometer‐size LiFePO4 spheres with homogeneous double carbon coating layers have been prepared as potential electrode materials for battery applications. The double carbon‐coated LiFePO4 electrodes in a lithium‐ion cell exhibited discharge capacities of the order of 160 mAh g−1 and 115 mAh g−1 at 25 °C under 0.1 C‐rate and 10 C‐rate, respectively.

This Perspective discusses the prospective strategies for overcoming the stability and capacity trade-off associated with increased Ni content in layered Ni-rich Li­[Ni x Co y Mn z ]­O2 (NCM) and Li­[Ni x Co y Al z ]­O2 (NCA) cathodes. The Ni-rich NCM and NCA cathodes have largely replaced the LiCoO2 cathodes in commercial batteries because of their lower cost, higher energy density, good rate capability, and reliability that has been extensively field-tested. Nevertheless, they suffer from microcrack generation along grain boundaries and Ni3+/4+ reactivity that rapidly deteriorate electrochemical performance. Doping and coating have been efficient strategies in delaying the onset of the damage, but they fail to overcome the degradation. There are, however, alternative strategies that directly counter the inherent degradation through micro- and nanostructural modifications of the Ni-rich NCM and NCA cathodes.

Novel β-MnO2 nanorods with exposed (101) planes demonstrated high performance in Zn-ion cells.