Hierarchical 3D Oxygenated Cobalt Vanadium Selenide Nanosheets as Advanced Electrode for Flexible Zinc-Cobalt and Zinc-Air Batteries.

Abstract

Highly flexible quasi solid-state batteries are promising in next-generation energy storage sectors due to their high energy density, power density, and low manufacturing cost. However, poor cycle life seriously limits their application in industrial sectors. Herein, a novel strategy is established to design the oxygenated cobalt vanadium selenide (O-Cox V1- x Se2 ) nanostructures for high-performance quasi solid-state (QSS) zinc-cobalt batteries (ZCBs) and zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Density functional theory (DFT) calculation reveals that the doping effect of Co2+ into O-VSe2 nanostructure could increase the density of states near the edge of the conduction band, demonstrating ultrafast electron transport kinetics. Most interestingly, the optimal O-Co0.33 V0.67 Se2 cathode-based QSS-ZCB exhibits an ultrahigh specific capacity of 422.7 mAh g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 , excellent energy density of 186.4Wh kg-1 , tremendous power density of 5.65kW kg-1 , and ultralong cycle life (86.9% capacity retention after 3000 cycles). Furthermore, O-Co0.33 V0.67 Se2 air-cathode based QSS-ZAB delivers a peak power density of 162mW cm-2 and ultralong cycle life over 100 h. These experimental and theoretical studies indicate that the electrochemically induced, cobalt stabilizes the vanadium is essential to boost the energy storage properties and cycle life of both ZCBs and ZABs.