Cathode For Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries Research Articles

Investigation of sodium vanadate as a high-performance aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode

Investigation of sodium vanadate as a high-performance aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode

Ultra-High Mass-Loading Cathode for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery Based on Graphene-Wrapped Aluminum Vanadate Nanobelts

HighlightsWe first report on H11Al2V6O23.2 with large layer spacing as cathode for aqueous zinc-ion battery, which accelerates the diffusion of Zn2+.The graphene-wrapped H11Al2V6O23.2 nanobelts can improve electronic conductivity, and potentially inhibit the dissolution of elements in the aqueous electrolyte.H11Al2V6O23.2@graphene exhibits high capacity and stable cycling stability even at an ultra-high mass loading of ~ 15.7 mg cm−2.

Electrochemically induced cationic defect in MnO intercalation cathode for aqueous zinc-ion battery

The Mn dissolution is a key issue in the application of high-energy-density manganese-based materials, but the use of Mn dissolution to unlock the electrochemical activity of electrode materials is rarely achieved. Here, an in-situ electrochemical approach has been developed for the activation of MnO by inducing Mn-defect, wherein the Mn defects are formed through a charge process that converts the MnO with poor electrochemical activities towards Zn2+ into high electrochemically active cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). More importantly, this cathode exhibits an insertion/extraction mechanism without structural collapse during storage/release of Zn2+. The as-designed Zn/MnO battery delivers a high energy density of 383.88 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 135.6 W kg−1. The results demonstrate that the Mn-defect MnO would be a promising cathode for aqueous ZIBs, which is expected to be used in commercial large-scale energy storage. This work may pave the way for the possibility of using defect chemistry to introduce novel properties in electrode materials for high-performance aqueous ZIBs.

V-MOF derived porous V2O5 nanoplates for high performance aqueous zinc ion battery

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion battery is a promising energy storage device because of its low cost and high safety. However, they are still in their infancy due to the limited choice of cathodes with high capacity and satisfactory cycling performance. In this work, porous V2O5 materials were obtained by pyrolysis of vanadium-MOF and adopted as intercalation cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries. V2O5 purchased commercially as a control, the effects of specific surface area, pore size distribution and mixed valence of electrodes on the performance of batteries were studied. The novel cathode delivers high capacities of 300 mA h g−1 compared to 60 mAh g−1 for C-V2O5 at current density of 100 mA g−1. The energy density of this Zn ion battery is about 230 Wh kg−1, which is much higher than commercial lead acid batteries. The capacity of P-V2O5 electrode retains 120 mA h g−1 even at 2000 mA g−1, which is much higher than that of C-V2O5. Moreover, the structure of V2O5 nanoplates and their composites with carbon materials can improve the cyclic stability.

Construction of V2O5/NaV6O15 biphase composites as aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted extensive attentions due to their high capacity and low-cost. Yet the long-term cycling performance is needed to be further optimized to meet the demand of grid-scale energy storage application. Herein, we introduce a new strategy to improve the cycling performance of aqueous ZIBs by the construction of biphase composites, as an example of V2O5/NaV6O15. It demonstrates excellent long-term cycling stability, with a high capacity of 164mAhg−1 after 2000cycles at 5 A g−1 and 116.7mAhg−1 after 4000cycles at 10 A g−1.

Synthesis of polycrystalline K0.25V2O5 nanoparticles as cathode for aqueous zinc-ion battery

Polycrystalline K0.25V2O5 nanoparticles have been synthesized and evaluated as cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which demonstrates excellent Zn2+ storage capability. As elucidated, a high capacity of 306 mA h g−1, excellent rate capability of 5 A g−1 and long-term cyclic stability up to 500 cycles at 2 A g−1 are achieved. The effect of the K+ ions and the role of morphology for K0.25V2O5 cathode were also discussed in this work. CV measurements at different rates demonstrate that partial surface-controlled capacitive behavior contributes to the capacity of polycrystalline K0.25V2O5 nanoparticles. The zinc storage mechanism is investigated, which demonstrates as a highly reversible intercalation-type cathode for K0.25V2O5 with unique three-dimensional tunnel structure.

Inverse opal manganese dioxide constructed by few-layered ultrathin nanosheets as high-performance cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Considering the high safety, low-cost and high capacity, aqueous zinc ion batteries have been a potential candidate for energy storage ensuring smooth electricity supply. Herein, we have synthesized inverse opal manganese dioxide constructed by few-layered ultrathin nanosheets by a solution template method at mild temperature. The ultrathin nanosheets with the thickness as small as 1 nm are well separated without obvious aggregation. Used as cathode material for aqueous zinc ion batteries, the few-layered ultrathin nanosheets combined with the inverse opal structure guarantee excellent performance. A high specific discharge capacity of 262.9 mAh·g−1 is retained for the 100th cycle at a current density of 300 mA·g−1 with a high capacity retention of 95.6%. A high specific discharge capacity of 121 mAh·g−1 at a high current density of 2,000 mA·g−1 is achieved even after 5,000 long-term cycles. The ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results demonstrate that the discharge/charge processes involve the reversible formation of zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate on the cathode while in-plane crystal structure of the layered birnessite MnO2 could be maintained. This unique structured MnO2 is a promising candidate as cathode material for high capacity, high rate capability and long-term aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

High-performance flexible quasi-solid-state zinc-ion batteries with layer-expanded vanadium oxide cathode and zinc/stainless steel mesh composite anode

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) featured with environmental friendliness, low cost, and high safety have attracted great interest but still suffer from the lack of high-performance electrodes. Herein, a facile in situ approach is developed to simultaneously introduce multivalence, increase the interlayer water content, and expand the interlayer distance in hydrated V2O5. These structural modulations endow the as-obtained layer-expanded V2O5 2.2H2O (E-VO) nanosheets with faster charge transfer kinetics, more Zn2+ storage space, and higher structural stability than precursor V2O5. Besides, a unique flexible Zn/stainless steel (Zn/SS) mesh composite anode with low polarization and uniform Zn stripping/plating behavior is fabricated, which alleviates the Zn dendrite growth. As cathode for aqueous ZIBs, E-VO exhibits high reversible capacity (450 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), good rate capability (222 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) and long stability (72% capacity retention for 3000 cycles at 5 A g−1). Moreover, the flexibility and large lateral size make E-VO a high-performance binder-free cathode for flexible quasi-solid-state Zn/E-VO battery, i.e. high capacity under different bending states (361 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1), good rate capability (115 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1), and long stability (85% capacity retention for 300 cycles at 1 A g−1). The achievements of this study can be considered as an important step toward the development of aqueous-based ZIBs.

Transition metal ion-preintercalated V2O5 as high-performance aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode with broad temperature adaptability

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) with advantages of high safety and low-cost gradually show potential in large-scale energy storage/supply application. Yet the further development of aqueous ZIBs is hindered by finding suitable cathodes. Here we demonstrate that the chemical pre-intercalated transition metal ions (e.g. Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+, etc.) into the interlayer of V2O5, could effectively improve the electrochemical performance of aqueous ZIBs, in terms of high capacity, rate capability and long-term cycling stability, as well as excellent broad temperature adaptability. For instance, Cu2+-intercalated V2O5 cathode exhibits high capacity of 180 mA h g−1 after 10000 cycles at 10 A g−1 and 122 mA h g−1 after 3000 cycles at 20 A g−1. This universal strategy of pre-intercalated metal ions in the host materials is found to enable fast Zn2+ diffusion, enhanced electrical conductivity, and excellent structural reversibility, which can be applicable for other well-established aqueous ZIBs cathodes (i.e. MnO2), or other advanced battery systems.

β-MnO2 nanolayer coated on carbon cloth as a high-activity aqueous zinc-ion battery cathode with high-capacity and long-cycle-life

A β-MnO2 nanolayer coated on carbon cloth (MnO2@CC) was prepared for aqueous Zn-MnO2 battery. The MnO2@CC cathode demonstrates good electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity (326 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1) and excellent long term cycling performance (90–100 mA h g−1 at 2000 mA g−1 for 700 cycles). The excellent performance is attributed to its unique structure: the outer surface of β-MnO2 nanolayer is fully in contact with the electrolyte and the inner surface is closely combined with the conductive carbon cloth.

Na2V6O16·2.14H2O nanobelts as a stable cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries with long-term cycling performance

Abstract Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have been considered as one of the most promising electrochemical devices for large-scale energy storage system owing to their low cost and high safety. Herein, Na2V6O16·2.14H2O nanobelts are synthesized and applied as cathode material for ZIBs. The sample displays a high capacity of 466 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and stable cycling performance with a capacity retention of 90% over 2000 cycles at the 20 A g−1. Moreover, Na2V6O16·2.14H2O presents a capable rate ability and a high energy density of 312 Wh kg−1 at a specific power of 70 W kg−1. The superior electrochemical performance is attributed to the large interlayer spacing and outstanding structure stability, which promise the highly reversible intercalation and extraction of zinc ion. The electrochemical kinetics and zinc ion storage mechanism are also investigated. This work demonstrates that nanoscale electrode materials with large interlayer spacing can effectively enhance the electrochemical performance of aqueous ZIBs, which can be extended to other metal ion batteries, such as magnesium ion batteries and aluminum ion batteries.

V2O5 Nanospheres with Mixed Vanadium Valences as High Electrochemically Active Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery Cathode

HighlightsHollow V4+-V2O5 nanospheres are prepared by a novel and simple method using VOOH as the precursor.V4+-V2O5 with mixed vanadium valences is firstly constructed as an electrochemically active cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.The V4+-V2O5 cathode exhibits a prominent cycling performance up to 1000 cycles and an excellent rate capability.

Porous V2O5 nanofibers as cathode materials for rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Abstract Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries are recently gaining incremental attention because of low cost and material abundance, but their development is plagued by limited choice of cathode materials with satisfactory cycling performance. Here, we report a porous V2O5 nanofibers cathode with high Zn-storage performance in an aqueous Zn(CF3SO3)2 electrolyte. We propose a reaction mechanism based on phase transition from orthorhombic V2O5 to zinc pyrovanadate on first discharging and reversible Zn2+ (de)intercalation in the open-structured hosts during subsequent cycling. This open and stable architecture enables a high reversible capacity of 319 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1 and a capacity retention of 81% over 500 cycles. The remarkable electrochemical performance makes V2O5 a promising cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Structure Rearrangement and V(IV) Doping for V2O5 as Ultralong-Life and Ultrahigh-Rate Cathode in Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

To improve the electrochemical performance of commercial V2O5, its structures are rearranged and simultaneously doped by coessential and low-valence V(IV) ions via the oxalic acid reductant coupled facile hydrothermal process to achieve successfully V2O5 nanosheets. The materials were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. After the structural rearrangement and V(IV)-doping, V2O5 nanosheets exhibit bigger lattice parameters and smaller grain size, but more stable structure. Compared to the commercial V2O5, V2O5 nanosheets reveal the higher specific capacity of 230.7 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.2 A g−1 and the higher rate capacity of 216.3 mAh g−1 at the current density of 5 A g−1, maintain the more excellent capacity retention of 87.8% (189.8 mAh g−1) after 1000 cycles. These results indicate the structural rearrangement and V(IV) doping can greatly improve the structure and performance for commercial V2O5.

Structural Modification of V2O5 as High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery Cathode

We report the NH4+ intercalated V2O5, i.e. (NH4)2V10O25•8H2O, with excellent electrochemical performance as cathode in aqueous zinc-ion battery (ZIBs), as compared to V2O5, Na5V12O32 and K2V8O21. This work reveals that the ionic conductivity of Zn2+ can be enhanced by introducing cations into the V2O5 framework and the vanadium oxygen structural units will be rearranged. Compared to a single layer of vanadium pentoxide consisting solely of VO5 units, the electrochemical performance of the structural units rearranged vanadates shows a significant improvement. As a result, the obtained (NH4)2V10O25•8H2O delivers high discharge capacity (376 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), superior rate capability up to 10 A g−1, excellent cycling stability (a capacity retention over 93% for 1000 cycles) and high energy density (341 Wh kg−1).

Polyaniline-intercalated manganese dioxide nanolayers as a high-performance cathode material for an aqueous zinc-ion battery

Rechargeable zinc–manganese dioxide batteries that use mild aqueous electrolytes are attracting extensive attention due to high energy density and environmental friendliness. Unfortunately, manganese dioxide suffers from substantial phase changes (e.g., from initial α-, β-, or γ-phase to a layered structure and subsequent structural collapse) during cycling, leading to very poor stability at high charge/discharge depth. Herein, cyclability is improved by the design of a polyaniline-intercalated layered manganese dioxide, in which the polymer-strengthened layered structure and nanoscale size of manganese dioxide serves to eliminate phase changes and facilitate charge storage. Accordingly, an unprecedented stability of 200 cycles with at a high capacity of 280 mA h g−1 (i.e., 90% utilization of the theoretical capacity of manganese dioxide) is achieved, as well as a long-term stability of 5000 cycles at a utilization of 40%. The encouraging performance sheds light on the design of advanced cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Pilotaxitic Na1.1V3O7.9 nanoribbons/graphene as high-performance sodium ion battery and aqueous zinc ion battery cathode

For the development of high-performance sodium and aqueous zinc ion batteries, the exploitation of suitable cathode materials is urgently needed. In this work, pilotaxitic Na1.1V3O7.9 nanoribbons/graphene (Na1.1V3O7.9@rGO) have been prepared. As cathode for sodium ion battery, the Na1.1V3O7.9@rGO delivers high capacities at different rates. Stable capacity of 84.8 mA h g−1 is obtained at 1 A g−1 after 500 cycles, corresponding to a low capacity fading rate of 0.015% per cycle. The ex-situ XRD and TEM results demonstrate good structural stability of Na1.1V3O7.9@rGO. Most importantly, the layered structure of Na1.1V3O7.9@rGO is firstly employed as cathode for aqueous zinc ion battery. This composite can deliver a high capacity of ~ 220 mA h g−1 at 300 mA g−1, as well as good cyclic stability, which suggests the sodium vanadates may be a good cathode candidate for aqueous zinc ion battery.

Investigation of V2O5 as a low-cost rechargeable aqueous zinc ion battery cathode.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) are highly desirable for large-scale energy storage due to their advantages of safety and low-cost. Development of advanced cathodes for use in aqueous ZIBs is urgently needed. Herein, we report a low-cost rechargeable aqueous Zn-V2O5 cell with 3 M ZnSO4 electrolyte that demonstrates high zinc storage capability. We also investigated the effect of different types/concentrations of the aqueous electrolytes on the performance of the Zn-V2O5 cells.

Rechargeable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery Based on Porous Framework Zinc Pyrovanadate Intercalation Cathode.

In this work, a microwave approach is developed to rapidly synthesize ultralong zinc pyrovanadate (Zn3 V2 O7 (OH)2 ·2H2 O, ZVO) nanowires with a porous crystal framework. It is shown that our synthesis strategy can easily be extended to fabricate other metal pyrovanadate compounds. The zinc pyrovanadate nanowires show significantly improved electrochemical performance when used as intercalation cathode for aqueous zinc-ion battery. Specifically, the ZVO cathode delivers high capacities of 213 and 76 mA h g-1 at current densities of 50 and 3000 mA g-1 , respectively. Furthermore, the Zn//ZVO cells show good cycling stability up to 300 cycles. The estimated energy density of this Zn cell is ≈214Wh kg-1 , which is much higher than commercial lead-acid batteries. Significant insight into the Zn-storage mechanism in the pyrovanadate cathodes is presented using multiple analytical methods. In addition, it is shown that our prototype device can power a 1.5 V temperature sensor for at least 24 h.