An integrated electrode strengthened by dense layer for aqueous zinc ion batteries with long lifespan

Abstract

Rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries have attracted increasing attention for large-scale energy storage system. Restricted by the zinc deposition and dendrite growth, the practical application was hindered seriously by the poor rechargeability and instability. The strategy of utilizing Zn-Al-layered double hydroxides hexagonal nanoplates modifying zinc metal anode was employed by a scalable method of spinning coating. This integrated electrode can not only realize ions well-distributed reaction on the electrode surface due to the dense protection layer weak adsorption behavior and low surface area, but also can efficiently avoid excessive zinc deposition and growth of zinc dendrites. The nucleation and dissolution energy barriers in the phase transition between zinc ions and the integrated electrode are decreased as well. The integrated electrode harvests a long-term stability of 1000 h at 1.0 mA h cm-2 and effectively suppresses side reactions in the Zn//Zn symmetric cells. In addition, coupled with MnO2 as full cell, the capacity remains 195 mA h g-1 with the retention of 81.2% after 200 cycles. It is promising that the employed scalable strategy will provide new pathway into Zn metal anode protection and accelerate the practical application of aqueous zinc ion batteries.