Facile and effective defect engineering strategy boosting ammonium vanadate nanoribbon for high performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Abstract

Vanadium-based oxides have gained widespread attention as promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their abundant valences, high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the intrinsic sluggish kinetics and unsatisfactory conductivity have severely hampered their further development. Herein, a facile and effective defect engineering strategy was developed at room temperature to prepare the defective (NH4)2V10O25·8H2O (d-NHVO) nanoribbon with plenty of oxygen vacancies. Owing to the introduction of oxygen vacancies, the d-NHVO nanoribbon possessed more active sites, excellent electronic conductivity and fast ion diffusion kinetics. Benefiting from these advantages, the d-NHVO nanoribbon as an aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode material exhibited superior specific capacity (512 mAh g−1 at 0.3 A g−1), excellent rate capability and long-term cycle performance. Simultaneously, the storage mechanism of the d-NHVO nanoribbon was clarified via comprehensive characterizations. Furthermore, the pouch battery based on the d-NHVO nanoribbon was fabricated and presented eminent flexibility and feasibility. This work provides a novel thought for simple and efficient development of high- performance vanadium-based oxides cathode materials for AZIBs.