Abstract
Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) have gained wide interest in recent years as prospective high power and high energy devices to meet the ever-rising commercial needs for large-scale eco-friendly energy storage applications. The advancement in the development of electrodes, especially cathodes for ARZIB, is faced with hurdles related to the shortage of host materials that support divalent zinc storage. Even the existing materials, mostly based on transition metal compounds, have limitations of poor electrochemical stability, low specific capacity, and hence apparently low specific energies. Herein, NH4V4O10 (NHVO), a layered oxide electrode material with a uniquely mixed morphology of plate and belt-like particles is synthesized by a microwave method utilizing a short reaction time (~0.5 h) for use as a high energy cathode for ARZIB applications. The remarkable electrochemical reversibility of Zn2+/H+ intercalation in this layered electrode contributes to impressive specific capacity (417 mAh g−1 at 0.25 A g−1) and high rate performance (170 mAh g−1 at 6.4 A g−1) with almost 100% Coulombic efficiencies. Further, a very high specific energy of 306 Wh Kg−1 at a specific power of 72 W Kg−1 was achieved by the ARZIB using the present NHVO cathode. The present study thus facilitates the opportunity for developing high energy ARZIB electrodes even under short reaction time to explore potential materials for safe and sustainable green energy storage devices.
Highlights
The substantial features of being low-cost and highly safe have projected aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) for potential implementation in large-scale energy storage devices [1,2,3]
Layered vanadium oxide cathodes have gained wide attention for ARZIB applications due to their high capacity related to the wide operational potential range offered by the varied vanadium oxidation states, very stable cyclability, and extremely high rate performance arising from their structural durability [22,23,24,25]
The present study focuses on the presentation of a layered-type NH4 V4 O10 cathode with flower-like morphology prepared by a microwave reaction that lasts for a very short duration of ~0.5 h for useful ARZIB applications
Summary
The substantial features of being low-cost and highly safe have projected aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ARZIBs) for potential implementation in large-scale energy storage devices [1,2,3]. Layered vanadium oxide cathodes have gained wide attention for ARZIB applications due to their high capacity related to the wide operational potential range offered by the varied vanadium oxidation states, very stable cyclability, and extremely high rate performance arising from their structural durability [22,23,24,25]. In combination with metallic zinc as the negative electrode, the prepared cathode delivers a very high specific capacity of ~417 mAh g−1 at 0.25 A g−1 and remarkably good cycling performance (more than 75% capacity retention after 1500 consecutive cycles at 2.5 A g−1 rate) in the presence of 3M Zn(CF3 SO3 ) electrolyte solution. The electrochemical analyses aid in suggesting that the reaction mechanism is based on the reversible electrochemical intercalation of divalent Zn2+ and H+ ions into the layered NHVO cathode. The results from the present study can expand the understanding of vanadate cathodes for the real-time development of various ARZIB cathodes with electrochemical behaviors analogous for safe and green large-scale energy storage devices
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