Rechargeable aqueous metal-ion batteries are very promising because of their green and safe inherent features as alternative energy storage devices during the post-lithium-ion era. Aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have...

Aqueous rechargeable Zn metal batteries have attracted widespread attention due to the intrinsic high volumetric capacity, low cost, and high safety. However, the low Coulombic efficiency and limited lifespan of Zn metal anodes resulting from uncontrollable growth of Zn dendrites impede their practical application. In this work, a 3D interconnected ZnF2 matrix is designed on the surface of Zn foil (Zn@ZnF2) through a simple and fast anodic growth method, serving as a multifunctional protective layer. The as‐fabricated Zn@ZnF2 electrode can not only redistribute the Zn2+ ion flux, but also reduce the desolvation active energy significantly, leading to stable and facile Zn deposition kinetics. The results reveal that the Zn@ZnF2 electrode can effectively inhibit dendrites growth, restrain the hydrogen evolution reactions, and endow excellent plating/stripping reversibility. Accordingly, the Zn@ZnF2 electrode exhibits a long cycle life of over 800 h at 1 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 1.0 mAh cm−2 in a symmetrical cell test, the feasibility of which is also convincing in Zn@ZnF2//MnO2 and Zn@ZnF2//V2O5 full batteries. Importantly, a hybrid zinc‐ion capacitor of the Zn@ZnF2//AC can work at an ultrahigh current density of ≈60 mA cm−2 for up to 5000 cycles with a high capacity retention of 92.8%.

MOF-derived ZnO@ZnO Quantum Dots/C core-shell nanorod arrays grown on flexible carbon cloth are successfully fabricated as a binder-free anode for Li-ion storage. In combination with the advantages from the ZnO/C core-shell architecture and the 3D nanorod arrays, this material satisfies both efficient ion and fast electron transport, and thus shows superior rate capability and excellent cycling stability.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIB) are emerging as one promising alternative for Li-ion batteries on account of the high energy density, environmental friendliness, rich earth abundance and good safety characteristics. Nevertheless, almost all the ZIBs suffer from sluggish kinetics of Zn 2+ diffusion in electrodes, leading to poor rate capability and inadequate cycle life in practical applications. To tackle this issue, herein we develop an in situ polyaniline (PANI) intercalation strategy to facilitate the Zn 2+ (de)intercalation kinetics in V2O5. In this way, a remarkably enlarged interlayer distance (13.90 Å) can be constructed alternatively between the V-O layers, offering expedite This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.3 channels for facile Zn 2+ diffusion. More importantly, the electrostatic interactions between Zn 2+ and host O 2-, which is another key factor in hindering the Zn 2+ diffusion kinetics, can be effectively blocked by the unique π-conjugated structure of PANI. As a result, the PANI-intercalated V2O5 exhibits a stable and highly reversible electrochemical reaction during repetitive Zn 2+ insertion and extraction, as demonstrated by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman studies. Further first-principles calculations clearly reveal a remarkably lowered binding energy between Zn 2+ and host O 2+ , which explains the favorable kinetics in PANI-intercalated V2O5. Moreover, the intercalation of PANI leads to an intermediated energy band lying across the Fermi level, thereby offering a step for electron transport during charging/discharging process. Benefitting from the above, the overall electrochemical performance of PANI-intercalated V2O5 electrode has been remarkable improved, exhibiting excellent high rate capability of 197.1 mAh g −1 at current density of 20 A g −1 with capacity retention of 97.6% over 2000 cycles. Our approach presents a prospective guideline for the electrode design of high performance aqueous ZIBs, which could be also expanded to widespread battery researches.

We demonstrate a facile hydrothermal method for growth of ultrathin NiCo2S4 nanosheets on reduced graphene oxide (RGO), which exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance with higher capacitance and longer cycle life than the bare NiCo2S4 hollow spheres (HSs).