Willow leaf-shape ReSe2@C as positive electrode material for aluminum-ion batteries

Abstract

Recently, aluminum-based batteries have received extensive attention from researchers because of their advantages over other metals-based batteries in terms of cost, energy density, and safety performance. Herein, we synthesized willow leaf-shape ReSe2@C as the positive electrode of aluminum batteries. ReSe2, with anisotropic crystal structure, is encapsulated in carbon using weak interlaminar van der Waals force. Its low lattice symmetry increases the ion/electron adsorption sites and reduces the energy barrier for ion intercalation into ReSe2 layers. The electrochemical analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of ReSe2@C have ascertained that AlCl4- is intercalated/embedded in host material during charging/discharging. The specific discharge capacity of ReSe2@C remains 88 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at the current density of 100 mA g−1, with a high Coulomb efficiency of 98%.