Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc/Aluminum Ion Battery with Good Cycling Performance

Abstract

Developing rechargeable batteries with low cost is critically needed for the application in large-scale stationary energy storage systems. Here, an aqueous rechargeable zinc//aluminum ion battery is reported on the basis of zinc as the negative electrode and ultrathin graphite nanosheets as the positive electrode in an aqueous Al2(SO4)3/Zn(CHCOO)2 electrolyte. The positive electrode material was prepared through a simple electrochemically expanded method in aqueous solution. The cost for the aqueous electrolyte together with the Zn negative electrode is low, and their raw materials are abundant. The average working voltage of this aqueous rechargeable battery is 1.0 V, which is higher than those of most rechargeable Al ion batteries in an ionic liquid electrolyte. It could also be rapidly charged within 2 min while maintaining a high capacity. Moreover, its cycling behavior is also very good, with capacity retention of nearly 94% after 200 cycles.

Recent Progress of Rechargeable Batteries Using Mild Aqueous Electrolytes

“…A two‐step reaction occurs during Al 3+ insertion/extraction in CuHCF with a pair of redox peaks centered at 0.48 V/0.73 V and 0.76 V/0.80 V versus Ag/AgCl, which contributes to 62.9 mAh g −1 specific capacity at 50 mA g −1 , and 46.9 mAh g −1 at 400 mA g −1 with a capacity retention of 54.9% after 1000 cycles. Huang and co‐workers prepared ultrathin graphite nanosheet through an electrochemically expanded method. When evaluated as cathode for hybrid zinc/aluminum‐ion battery in an Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 /Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 (0.25/0.5 m ) electrolyte, it shows a high average working voltage of 1 V and over 200 stable cycles at 0.5 A g −1 .…”

Highly Sustainable Zinc Anodes for a Rechargeable Hybrid Aqueous Battery

“…[3][4][5] Hence, many aqueous batteries, especially alkaline batteries, utilize zinc metal as the anode. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Even though there are many advantages of using zinc metal as the anode in aqueous batteries, secondary zinc batteries have not been widely commercialized duet os everal limitations, mainly from the zinc electrode. The major problemsn eed to be solved are metal corrosion,d endrite formation, and hydrogen evolution.…”

Self‐Supported Tin Sulfide Porous Films for Flexible Aluminum‐Ion Batteries

“…[19] Moreover, obvious shifts to small angles were observed during the charging process, owing to the boundary reforming. [22] Eventually, the XRD patterns almost returned to the initial state at the discharge potential of 0.6 V, indicating the reversible electrochemical process. [22] Eventually, the XRD patterns almost returned to the initial state at the discharge potential of 0.6 V, indicating the reversible electrochemical process.…”