Microfluidic‐Assisted 3D Printing Zinc Powder Anode with 2D Conductive MOF/MXene Heterostructures for High‐Stable Zinc−Organic Battery

Abstract

Zinc powder (Zn‐P) anodes have significant advantages in terms of universality and machinability compared with Zn foil anodes. However, their rough surface, which has a high surface area, intensifies the uncontrollable growth of Zn dendrites and parasitic side reactions. In this study, an anti‐corrosive Zn‐P‐based anode with a functional layer formed from a MXene and Cu‐THBQ (MXene/Cu‐THBQ) heterostructure is successfully fabricated via microfluidic‐assisted 3D printing. The unusual anti‐corrosive and strong adsorption of Zn ions using the MXene/Cu‐THBQ functional layer can effectively homogenize the Zn ion flux and inhibit the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) during the repeated process of Zn plating/stripping, thus achieving stable Zn cycling. Consequently, a symmetric cell based on Zn‐P with the MXene/Cu‐THBQ anode exhibits a highly reversible cycling of 1800 h at 2 mA cm−2/1 mAh cm−2. Furthermore, a Zn‐organic full battery matched with a 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxyl organic cathode riveted on graphene delivers a high reversible capacity and maintains a long cycle life.

Zn Powder-Based Anodes for Aqueous Zn Metal Batteries: Strategies, Structures, and Perspectives

“…to prepare various new Zn anodes, such as rheological electrodes, 3D electrodes, gradient electrodes, etc. [16][17][18][19]21 which cannot be achieved by Zn foil and electrodeposited Zn anode, demonstrating significant prospects for their industrial applications. This section focuses on the diversified structure of Zn powder-based anodes.…”

“…On the basis of this feature, the high lattice matching between MXene and Zn, as well as the physical confinement between MXene interfaces, greatly suppress the dendritic growth of Zn powders . Microfluidic-assisted 3D printing Zn powder anodes, in which the functional layer is formed by MXene and Cu-THBQ (MXene/Cu-THBQ) heterostructure, was also developed by Lu et al The MXene/Cu-THBQ functional layer is highly corrosive and adsorbent to Zn 2+ , which can effectively homogenize the Zn 2+ flux and inhibit the hydrogen evolution reaction during the repeated plating/stripping, thus achieving a cyclic stability …”

“…As a promising raw material for Zn anodes, Zn powder offers many advantages such as low cost, large-scale processability, and structural tunability, which is very attractive for scaled-up manufacturing. − Zn powder can effectively control the utilization rate and meet some special shape usage requirements. However, compared with Zn foil, Zn powder exhibits higher electrochemical activity, which may experience more severe issues (Figure b), such as hydrogen evolution and corrosion.…”

Acid-Dependent Charge Transport in a Solution-Processed 2D Conductive Metal-Organic Framework

“…Two-dimensional (2D) electrically conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a subset of porous materials that are emerging as useful materials in electrocatalysis, , energy storage, − sensing, and electronic devices due to their outstanding charge-transport properties paired with their high porosity . Yet, these materials face significant challenges in establishing design strategies to control both electrical and chemical properties, including limited methods to dope them .…”

Zinc iso-plating/stripping: toward a practical Zn powder anode with ultra-long life over 5600 h

“…Zn powder shows potential for practical industrial production over Zn foil due to its low cost, large-scale processability, and good-tunability. 31–33 More importantly, the use of Zn powder avoids the drawbacks of planar Zn foil and allows a more well-controlled mass loading which is essential for the anode vs. cathode mass balance and high battery-level energy densities. 34–36 Furthermore, Zn powder, well-known as the anode material of dry batteries, can be directly used in existing electrode preparation techniques, such as the electrode paste-casting method.…”