The
rechargeable aqueous zinc–iodine (Zn–I2)
battery has emerged as a promising electrochemical energy storage
technology. However, poor cycling stability caused by the dissolution
of iodine species into the electrolyte limited its practical application.
Herein, we report a nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) material in
gram scales. Performed as an iodine host in the Zn–I2 battery, the NPC shows a high specific capacity (345.3 mAh g–1 at 0.2 C), superior rate capability (53.2% capacity
retention at 10 C), and remarkable cycling stability (10 000
cycles at 10 C with a capacity retention of 80.9%). More importantly,
DFT computations reveal that the graphitic-N (N-Q) exhibits the strongest
adsorption of iodine; however, pyridinic-N (N-6) shows the weakest
adsorption of iodine. Moreover, the N-6/N-Q ratio is an essential
parameter that significantly determined the electrochemical performance
of Zn–I2 batteries. Therefore, the improved long-term
cycling stability and rate capability of the as-designed Zn–I2 battery are attributable to the decrease of the N-6/N-Q ratio.
This work is of great significance for devolving highly reversible
Zn–I2 batteries.
Rechargeable aprotic alkali metal (Li and Na)-iodine (AM-I2) batteries with high theoretical capacity and specific energy density have emerged as one of the promising energy storage technologies. However, their application...
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