Binder-Free Freestanding 3D Zn-Graphene Anode Induced from Commercial Zinc Powders and Graphene Oxide for Zinc Ion Battery with High Utilization Rate

Abstract

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have received widespread attention owing to the increasing demand for safety and inexpensive batteries. However, a zinc metal anode suffers from dendrite growth during continuous cycling, and side reactions occurred on anode surface such as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and passivation. Moreover, the low utilization of Zn metal is also a neglected issue leading to a low energy density at the cell-level. Herein, a nondendrite Zn anode with high utilization was designed by spontaneous reaction of commercial Zn powders and graphene oxide (GO). The formed binder-free three-dimensional (3D) anode Zn_G achieves a cycling time over 550 h and extremely low voltage hysteresis of ∼20 mV with 7.4% DOD (130 h for Zn foil with 1.3% DOD and 80 h for Zn powders with 7.4% DOD) at a current density of 1 mA cm–2 in a symmetric cell. In Zn||MnO2 full batteries, Zn_G greatly enhances the gravimetric energy density on the cell level and achieved more than 1600 cycles much higher than Zn foil (Zn_F) with 700 cycles and Zn powders (Zn_P) with 500 cycles. The low N/P ratio of 3 also achieved high stability with 126 mAh g–1 and 74.5% retention after 1000 cycles.

Utilization of 2D materials in aqueous zinc ion batteries for safe energy storage devices

“…Strong binding was formed between the Zn powder and GO via the formation of the hydrogel, which was subsequently freeze dried and annealed in Ar atmosphere at 420 °C to form the Zn_G anode. 113 In the contact angle test, Zn_G showed improved hydrophilicity compared to zinc foil (Zn_F) and zinc powder (Zn_P) due to the functional groups present in graphene oxide. Moreover, low lattice mismatch between the graphene and Zn reduced the side reaction and released Zn plating stress, which inhibited the growth of dendrite.…”

“…94 Lastly, LDH has been adopted since 2014 95 and has been gaining significant attention in recent years (2022, [96][97][98][99][100][101] 2023 102 ). When considering anode for AZIBs, numerous 2D materials such as graphene (2018, 13 2019, 103 2020, 104 2021, [105][106][107][108][109] 2022, [110][111][112][113] 2023 114 ), MoS 2 (2020 115 ), g-CN (2021 116 ), BN (2022 117 ), MXene (2019, 118 2020, 119 2021, 109,120-122 2022 123 ), and 2D-MOF (2022 124 ) have been exploited on the anodic side to address existing challenges, including dendrite formation, HER, OER, and corrosion. These developments signify the evolving landscape of 2D materials in AZIB research, with continuous exploration and innovation in the field (Fig.…”

Recent progress of dendrite‐free stable zinc anodes for advanced zinc‐based rechargeable batteries: Fundamentals, challenges, and perspectives

“…However, zinc powder anode suffers from severe corrosion and hydrogen evolution due to the higher specific surface area and higher reactivity compared with the zinc foil anode. Therefore, some effective strategies have been exploited for the effective protection of zinc powder, such as semisolid zinc powder–based slurry, 62 the hybridization of commercial zinc powder and pristine graphene, 63 and spontaneous reaction of Zn powder and graphene oxide 64 …”

“…Therefore, some effective strategies have been exploited for the effective protection of zinc powder, such as semisolid zinc powder-based slurry, 62 the hybridization of commercial zinc powder and pristine graphene, 63 and spontaneous reaction of Zn powder and graphene oxide. 64…”

Melamine Foam-Derived Carbon Scaffold for Dendrite-Free and Stable Zinc Metal Anode

“…The used 3D current collectors have a large specific surface area, which allows sufficient contact with the electrolyte and uniform electric field distribution, thus ensuring uniform zinc ion distribution and alleviating zinc dendrite generation [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Recently, Lin and his co-workers [ 31 ] fabricated a freestanding 3D Zn-graphene anode to mitigate Zn dendrite growth. Unfortunately, the high price (~¥ 132 g −1 , price from Suzhou Tanfeng Graphene Technology Co., Ltd.) and complicated preparation process of this 3D Zn-graphene anode limit its large-scale application.…”