3D Printed Flexible Zinc Ion Micro‐Batteries with High Areal Capacity Toward Practical Application

Abstract

Printed zinc ion micro‐batteries (PZIMBs) possess characteristics such as miniaturization, customizability, and affordability, making them highly promising for the field of flexible electronic devices. Nevertheless, the current development of PZIMBs is seriously hindered by their limited areal capacity. In this study, PZIMBs with a high areal capacity are conducted based on 3D printing technology by optimizing the material properties, electrode ink formulation, and printing parameters. The cathode material, polyvinylpyrrolidone‐induced ammonium vanadate (P‐NVO) nanobelt, exhibits a high capacity of 457.3 mAh g−1 at 0.1 mA g−1, along with good cycling performance and rate capability. The double‐network hydrogel electrolyte, composed of crosslinked polyacrylamide‐polyvinylpyrrolidone (PAM‐PVP hydrogel electrolyte), demonstrates excellent ionic conductivity (107.22 mS cm−1), high stretchability (970%), and viscosity. The constructed PZIMBs exhibit a high areal capacity of 4.02 mAh cm−2 at 0.5 mA cm−2, along with good mechanical flexibility. Moreover, through the integration of PZIMBs with pressure sensors, an interactive system is developed that resembles electronic skin, and this integration enables practical applications of wearable devices. This study presents a novel approach for fabricating PZIMBs with high areal capacity, thereby contributing to and propelling the advancement of flexible energy storage.

Recent progress of high-performance in-plane zinc ion hybrid micro-supercapacitors: design, achievements, and challenges

“…87 Meanwhile, various printing technologies (e.g., inkjet printing, 3D printing, and screenprinting) have been employed to prepare Zn micro-anodes due to their unique advantages. [88][89][90] Among them, the 3D printing technique, as a revolutionary manufacturing method, is widely used in the design and preparation of electrodes due to its controllable geometry and unique architecture as well as low cost. Based on its unique advantages, it has been adopted to design Zn micro-anodes.…”

“…In this case, Lu et al attempted to solve these problems by exploring new ink formulations and optimizing the printing parameters (Fig. 2d), 89 thus achieving a satisfactory Zn micro-anode. It is worth noting that Zn nanospheres are encapsulated by CNTs with conductive additives and form a 3D network structure (Fig.…”

Design Principles and Development Status of Flexible Integrated Thin and Lightweight Zinc-Ion Batteries

“…Lu utilized silver conductive ink printing on cotton fabric as the collector for PZIMB (Figure 13h). Subsequently, P-NVO cathodic ink and Zn powder anodic ink were continuously printed onto the collector patterns to produce printed electrodes [70]. Finally, the prepared PAM-PVP hydrogel electrolyte film was applied to the printed electrodes to finalize the preparation of the PZIMB.…”

Laser-assisted fabrication of a 3D cross-linked V2CTx/rGO microelectrode for high-rate aqueous zinc-ion microbatteries

“…Several researchers have focused on the development of in-plane AZIMBs utilizing metal oxide-based materials, such as vanadium and manganese oxides, as cathode materials, resulting in significant advancements in electrochemical performance. 8–11 However, the energy and power densities of in-plane AZIMBs are insufficient within their given footprint area. Consequently, the emergence of 3D AZIMBs as a potential solution holds promise for significantly enhancing their energy and power densities within a limited area by leveraging the vertical dimension of 3D architectures.…”