A Stable Rechargeable Aqueous Zn–Air Battery Enabled by Heterogeneous MoS2 Cathode Catalysts

Abstract

Aqueous rechargeable zinc (Zn)–air batteries have recently attracted extensive research interest due to their low cost, environmental benignity, safety, and high energy density. However, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen (O2) evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of cathode catalysts in the batteries result in the high over-potential that impedes the practical application of Zn–air batteries. Here, we report a stable rechargeable aqueous Zn–air battery by use of a heterogeneous two-dimensional molybdenum sulfide (2D MoS2) cathode catalyst that consists of a heterogeneous interface and defects-embedded active edge sites. Compared to commercial Pt/C-RuO2, the low cost MoS2 cathode catalyst shows decent oxygen evolution and acceptable oxygen reduction catalytic activity. The assembled aqueous Zn–air battery using hybrid MoS2 catalysts demonstrates a specific capacity of 330 mAh g−1 and a durability of 500 cycles (~180 h) at 0.5 mA cm−2. In particular, the hybrid MoS2 catalysts outperform commercial Pt/C in the practically meaningful high-current region (>5 mA cm−2). This work paves the way for research on improving the performance of aqueous Zn–air batteries by constructing their own heterogeneous surfaces or interfaces instead of constructing bifunctional catalysts by compounding other materials.

Improving Cycle Life of Zinc–Air Batteries with Calcium Ion Additive in Electrolyte or Separator

“…Zinc–air batteries (ZABs) have been considered for a stationary energy storage application due to their high theoretical energy densities, abundant resources, low cost, and the environmental compatibility of Zn [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Its semi-open structure, however, inevitably led to the carbonation of electrolyte, and carbon dioxide came from the air as well as the oxidization of C element in air cathode at a high discharge voltage according to Equations (1) and (2) [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. It would significantly reduce the cycle life of ZABs and restrict further commercialization [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Editorial for the Special Issue “Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Semiconductors: Selected Papers from ICANS 29”

“…This includes topics such as Si-based, oxide, perovskite, 2D thin films and nanostructures, device applications for TFTs, solar cells, and LEDs, as well as memory devices and emerging flexible electronics and neuromorphic applications. For example, new fabrication technologies of amorphous and nanocrystalline thin films, electronic and optical characteristics, and device applications are presented and discussed in [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], including theoretical work in an ab initio study [ 9 ], controllable growth and formation of Si nanowires [ 1 ], nanocrystals [ 2 ], and quantum dots [ 3 , 4 ]. There are also several papers that cover emerging memory devices.…”

“…There are also several papers that cover emerging memory devices. These include phase change memory [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ] based on amorphous chalcogenide thin films and memristors based on transition metal oxides acting as an artificial synapse [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]; the improvement of electro-luminescence (EL) efficiency Er-doped oxide thin films [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]; 2D semiconductor thin films and perovskite for solar cells and aqueous Zn-air battery [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]; and flexible electronic materials for integrated strain sensors [ 20 , 21 ]. We anticipate that this Special Issue should interest a broad audience in these related fields.…”

“…It is suggested that sophisticated 2D trilayer vdW heterostructures can provide further optimized optoelectronic devices. For the study of 2D materials, Song’s group [ 19 ] reported a stable rechargeable aqueous ZN-air battery by using a heterogeneous 2D MoS 2 cathode catalyst, which demonstrated a capacity of 330mAhg − 1 and a durability of 500 cycles (~180 h) at 0.5 mAcm −2 . The hydrophilic and heterogeneous MoS 2 catalysts were prepared through a simple hydrothermal synthesis method.…”