Aqueous metal batteries routinely suffer from the dendritic growth at the anode, leading to significant capacity fading and ultimately, battery failure from short‐circuit. Herein, we utilize polyethylene glycol to regulate dendrite growth and improve the long‐term cycling stability of an aqueous rechargeable lithium/zinc battery. PEG200 in the electrolyte decreases the corrosion and chronoamperometric current densities of the zinc electrode up to four‐fold. Batteries with pre‐grown dendrites also perform significantly better when PEG is present in the electrolyte (41.4 mAh g−1 vs. 7.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles). X‐ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies show that dendrites in the PEG‐containing electrolyte have been inhibited, leading to much smaller/smoother surface features than those of the control. The facile preparation process of the aqueous electrolyte combined with low cost and vast performance improvement in batteries of all sizes indicates high upscaling viability.
The present work reveals results
on the network formation of graphene
nanoribbon (GNR) synthesized using a nonoxidative technique from multiwalled
carbon nanotube (MWCNT). MWCNT and GNR presented comparable powder
conductivity and dispersion state in a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)
matrix. This enabled us to purely discern the effect of geometrical
features of the nanofillers on network formation by comparing the
rheological and electrical percolation in the PVDF matrix. Unique
features of the rheological response of PVDF/GNR nanocomposites, such
as abrupt transition to a solid state, were interpreted according
to a network structure activated by the formation of primary and secondary
entanglements between adsorbed and bulk polymer chains. However, MWCNT
nanocomposites presented a rheological behavior consistent with a
strongly flocculated network structure formed through the direct tube–tube
contacts and mechanical entanglements. Poor broadband electrical conductivity
of the GNR nanocomposites compared to their MWCNT counterparts confirmed
our conclusion from the rheological results.
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