Green Synthesis of Vanadate Nanobelts at Room Temperature for Superior Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries are emerging as new promising energy storage devices for potential grid-scale applications, owing to their high safety and low cost. However, the limited choice of cathode materials and lack of green and scalable synthesis strategies have largely hindered their practical applications. Herein, a universal synthesis approach is developed to produce a variety of nanostructured layered vanadates, i.e., nanobelts of NaV, at room temperature. When examined as new cathodes for the zinc-ion battery system with aqueous ZnSO 4 as electrolyte, all three nanobelts exhibit excellent electrochemical performances, particularly the NVO and ZnVO electrodes, delivering high specific capacities of 366 and 328 mAh g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 , respectively. In addition, at an ultrahigh current density of 10 A g −1 , the NVO shows an initial capacity of 186 mAh g −1 with retained capacity of 200 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles, while ZnVO provides an initial capacity of 205 mAh g −1 with retained capacity of 191 mAh g −1 . Such remarkable electrochemical performances make layered vanadates, especially the NVO and ZnVO, very promising cathode candidates for new-generation aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Recent Progress on Zinc-Ion Rechargeable Batteries

“…To overcome the above-mentioned challenges, electrical energy storage (EES) offers an effective way to improve the reliability and scalability of the grid [13][14][15]. In recent years, much progress has been made by developing new energy technologies, especially rechargeable batteries [16][17][18][19]. Since the first secondary cell (lead-acid battery) was invented about 150 years ago, numerous kinds of rechargeable batteries have been designed, such as nickel zinc battery, nickel metal hydride, and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) [20,21].…”

Adipic acid formation from cyclohexanediol using platinum and vanadium catalysts: elucidating the role of homogeneous vanadium species

“…For this purpose, we therefore prepared a range of vanadium bronzes incorporating Na, Cu or Ag to increase stability, as they have commonly been used previously as heterogeneous catalysts in aqueous reactions, albeit with V leaching not being reported. [34][35][36][37] Catalysis Science & Technology Paper…”

V2O5 as magnesium cathode material with extended cyclic stability

“…Regarding the rest of the peaks (■) are due to the FTO glass substrate [11]. To further investigate the surface chemistry, XPS indicates in Figure 1b binding energies at 517.3 (V 2p 3/2 ), 524.9 (V 2p 1/2 ) and 530.2 eV (O 1s), which correspond to V 5+ and O 2of V 2 O 5 [12,13]. Additionally, there is a peak at 532.6 eV associated with the presence of chemisorbed OH groups on the surface of the coating [12].…”