Advanced Low-Cost, High-Voltage, Long-Life Aqueous Hybrid Sodium/Zinc Batteries Enabled by a Dendrite-Free Zinc Anode and Concentrated Electrolyte

Abstract

Aqueous batteries are promising energy storage systems but are hindered by the limited selection of anodes and narrow electrochemical window to achieve satisfactory cyclability and decent energy density. Here, we design aqueous hybrid Na-Zn batteries by using a carbon-coated Zn (Zn@C) anode, 8 M NaClO + 0.4 M Zn(CFSO) concentrated electrolyte coupled with NASICON-structured cathodes. The Zn@C anode achieves stable Zn stripping/plating and improved kinetics without Zn dendrite formation due to the porous carbon film facilitating homogeneous current distribution and Zn deposition. Furthermore, the concentrated electrolyte offers a large electrochemical window (∼2.5 V) and permits stable cycling of cathodes. As a result, the hybrid batteries exhibit extraordinary performance including high voltage, high energy density (100-150 Wh kg for half battery and 71 Wh kg for full battery), and excellent cycling stability of 1000 cycles.

An Interface‐Bridged Organic–Inorganic Layer that Suppresses Dendrite Formation and Side Reactions for Ultra‐Long‐Life Aqueous Zinc Metal Anodes

“…However,Znmetal anode is also faced with critical challenges such as dendrite growth, and side reactions including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and byproduct (such as an inert Zn 4 (OH) 6 SO 4 •5 H 2 Oi nZ nSO 4 aqueous electrolyte) formation (Scheme 1a), which generally lead to low coulombic efficiency,c apacity fading and short/ open circuit, thereby the commercialization of AZBs are severely hindered. [21] To address the above issues,t he currently reported solutions can be divided into two aspects:s uppressing dendrite formation and minimizing side reactions.D endrite suppression can be achieved by introducing coating layers on Zn anode surface,which effectively modified the current and electrolyte flux on anode surface,s uch as CaCO 3 and SiO 2 layer, [22] porous active carbon layer and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer, [23,24] and so on. Furthermore,m any strategies have also been reported for relieving the side reactions beside suppressing dendrites,i ncluding coating az incophilic protective layer, [25] replacing ZnSO 4 with Zn-(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 , [26] using electrolyte additives, [27][28][29] adoption of ah ighly concentrated zincic salt as electrolyte, [30] using modified conductive host, [31][32][33][34] employing single ion conduc-tive electrolyte, [35,36] alloying with Al, [37] adopting gel electrolyte or all solid electrolyte, [38][39][40] coating inorganic layer, [41][42][43][44] or organic (polyamide) layer.…”

Dendrite Growth Suppression by Zn2+‐Integrated Nafion Ionomer Membranes: Beyond Porous Separators toward Aqueous Zn/V2O5 Batteries with Extended Cycle Life

“…Despite the availability of efficient cathode materials, the AZIBs often suffer from severe performance deterioration during prolonged cycling. The inferior life‐span of AZIBs originates due to the dendritic growth of Zn deposits in the metallic anode during cycling . The use of electrodeposited Zn on foreign substrates instead of a commercial Zn foil is found to be an effective way to suppress the formation of the Zn dendrite .…”

Rechargeable Zn2+/Al3+ dual-ion electrochromic device with long life time utilizing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-nanocluster modified hydrogel electrolytes

“…Dendritic growth is a major issue associated with cyclic stability of metal anodes. 52,53 Fig. 3(a) shows the FE-SEM image of an as deposited WO 3 surface on ITO/glass.…”