The liquid electrolyte in conventional zinc/manganese dioxide (Zn/MnO2) batteries conduces to the capacity limitation of one‐electron redox from MnO2 to MnOOH, as well as undesired Mn loss with capacity deterioration. Herein, to conquer these challenges, a new idea is proposed on the precise proton redistribution in the hydrogel electrolyte for the preferred two‐electron redox reaction. Specifically, an acidic layer in the hydrogel adjoins the MnO2 cathode to maintain the two‐electron redox, a neutral layer adjoins the zinc anode to inhibit the dendrite growth, which is separated by a mildly alkaline layer to immobilize the proton distribution. The two‐electron redox of MnO2/Mn2+ and anode protection are demonstrated to play key roles in battery performance. Such a battery presents specific capacities of 516 mA h g−1 at 0.05 A g−1, as well as a capacity retention of 93.18% at 5 A g−1 after 5000 cycles without extra Mn2+ addition in the electrolyte. More importantly, fibrous Zn/MnO2 batteries using the tri‐layer electrolyte can sustain 2000 cycles with high initial capacity of 235 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1. After 6000 times folding in 180°, it can maintain 99.54% capacity. When integrated into user's clothing or portable accessories, the fibrous battery is demonstrated as a great potential in wearable electronics.
Aqueous rechargeable zinc-iodine batteries have received increasing attention in the field of portable electronics due to their high safety, low-cost, and great electrochemical performance. However, the insulated nature of iodine and the unrestricted shuttle effect of soluble triiodide seriously limit the lifespan and Coulombic efficiency (CE) of the batteries. Herein, a highperformance zinc-iodine energy storage system based on the hydrothermal reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and a high concentration zinc chloride waterin-salt electrolyte are promoted. The 3D microporous structures and outstanding electrical conductivity of rGO make it an excellent host for iodine, while the water-in-salt electrolyte effectively suppresses the shuttle effect of triiodide and improves the CE of the system. As a result, an ultra-high I 2 mass loading of 25.33 mg cm −2 (loading ratio of 71.69 wt.%) is realized during the continuous charging/discharging process. The batteries deliver a high capacity of 6.5 mAh cm −2 at 2 mA cm −2 with a much-improved CE of 95% and a prominent rate performance with capacity of 1 mAh cm −2 at 80 mA cm −2 . A stable long-term cycling performance is also achieved with capacity retention of 2 mAh cm −2 after 2000 cycles at 50 mA cm −2 .
Potassium
(K) metal batteries have attracted great attention owing
to their low price, widespread distribution, and comparable energy
density. However, the arbitrary dendrite growth and side reactions
of K metal are attributed to high environmental sensitivity, which
is the Achilles’ heel of its commercial development. Interface
engineering between the current collector and K metal can tailor the
surface properties for K-ion flux accommodation, dendrite growth inhibition,
parasitic reaction suppression, etc. We have designed bifunctional
layers via prepassivation, which can be recognized as an O/F-rich
Sn–K alloy and a preformed solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI)
layer. This Sn–K alloy with high substrate-related binding
energy and Fermi level demonstrates strong potassiophilicity to homogeneously
guide K metal deposition. Simultaneously, the preformed SEI layer
can effectually eliminate side reactions initially, which is beneficial
for the spatially and temporally KF-rich SEI layer on K metal. K metal
deposition and protection can be implemented by the bifunctional layers,
delivering great performance with a low nucleation overpotential of
0.066 V, a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.1%, and durable
stability of more than 900 h (1 mA cm–2, 1 mAh cm–2). Furthermore, the high-voltage platform, energy,
and power densities of K metal batteries can be realized with a conventional
Prussian blue analogue cathode. This work provides a paradigm to passivate
fragile interfaces for alkali metal anodes.
Commercialization of aqueous batteries is mainly hampered by their low energy density, owing to the low mass loading of active cathode materials. In this work, a MnO2 cathode structure (MnO2/CTF) is designed to modify the MnO2/collector interface for enhanced ion transportation properties. Such a cathode can achieve ultrahigh mass loading of MnO2, large areal capacity, and high energy density, with excellent cycling stability and rate performance. Specifically, a 0.15 mm thick MnO2/CTF cathode can realize a mass loading of 20 mg cm−2 with almost 100% electrochemical conversion of MnO2, providing the maximum areal capacity of 12.08 mA h cm−2 and energy density of 191 W h kg−1 for Zn‐MnO2/CTF batteries when considering both cathode and anode. Besides the conventional low energy demonstrations, such a Zn‐MnO2/CTF battery is capable of realistic applications, such as mobile phones in our daily life, which is a promising alternative for wearable electronics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.