The flexible self-supporting electrode can maintain good mechanical and electrical properties while retaining high specific capacity, which meets the requirements of flexible batteries. Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs), as a new generation of energy storage system, hold much higher theoretical energy density than traditional batteries, and they have attracted extensive attention from both the academic and industrial communities. Selection of a proper substrate material is important for the flexible self-supporting electrode.Carbon materials, with the advantages of light weight, high conductivity, strong structural plasticity, and low cost, provide the electrode with a large loading space for the active material and a conductive network. This makes the carbon materials meet the mechanical and electrochemical requirements of flexible electrodes. In this paper, the commonly used fabrication methods and recent research progresses of the flexible self-supporting cathode with a carbon material as the substrate are introduced. Various sulfur loading methods are summarized, which provides useful information for the structural design of the cathode. As the first review article of the carbon-based flexible self-supporting LSB cathodes, it provides valuable guidance for the researchers working in the field of LSB.
Zn Metal Anodes
Inspired by the industrial steel pipeline anti‐corrosion strategy, in article number 2202603, Ruiping Liu, Peng Han, Hong Jin Fan and co‐workers employ a compounding corrosion inhibitor (CCI) to protect Zn metal surfaces. Spontaneous adsorption of the CCI on the Zn surface via Zn‐O bonding constructs a uniform organic layer that allows Zn ion conduction but prevents H2O diffusion.
The progress of aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs) is limited by the poor cycling life due to Zn anode instability, including dendrite growth, surface corrosion, and passivation. Inspired by the anti‐corrosion strategy of steel industry, a compounding corrosion inhibitor (CCI) is employed as the electrolyte additive for Zn metal anode protection. It is shown that CCI can spontaneously generate a uniform and ≈30 nm thick solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on Zn anode with a strong adhesion via ZnO bonding. This SEI layer efficiently prohibits water corrosion and guides homogeneous Zn deposition without obvious dendrite formation. This enables reversible Zn deposition and dissolution for over 1100 h under the condition of 1 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2 in symmetric cells. The Zn‐MnO2 full cells with CCI‐modified electrolyte deliver an ultralow capacity decay rate (0.013% per cycle) at 0.5 A g−1 over 1000 cycles. Such an innovative strategy paves a low‐cost way to achieve AZBs with long lifespan.
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