Critical Issues of Vanadium‐Based Cathodes Towards Practical Aqueous Zn‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) are gaining significant attention for their numerous advantages, including high safety, high energy density, affordability, and environmental friendliness. However, the development of ZIBs has been hampered by the lack of suitable cathode materials that can store Zn2+ with high capacity and reversibility. Currently, vanadium‐based materials with tunnel or layered structures are widely researched owing to their high theoretical capacity and diversified structures. However, their long‐term cycling stability is unsatisfactory because of material dissolution, phase transformation, and restrictive kinetics in aqueous electrolytes, which limits their practical applications. Different from previous reviews on ZIBs, this review specifically addresses the critical issues faced by vanadium‐based cathodes for practical aqueous ZIBs and proposes potential solutions. Focusing on vanadium‐based cathodes, their ion storage mechanisms, the critical parameters affecting their performance, and the progress made in addressing the aforementioned problems are also summarized. Finally, future directions for the development of practical aqueous ZIB are suggested.

High-energy and durable aqueous Zn batteries enabled by multi-electron transfer reactions

“…However, these catalytic substrates with varying performances exhibit distinct properties in inducing the deposition mechanism for Zn batteries. For example, the Zn-CaO battery shows remarkable capacity retention compared to the Zn/MgO battery, possibly due to the stable CaSO 4 •2H 2 O phase deposition on the CaO cathode [72] . This study contributes to a better understanding of Zn-Mn batteries and guides the design of high-capacity ones in mild acid environments.…”

Zn2+-storage mechanism in V6O13 with nanosheets for high-capacity and long-life aqueous zinc-metal batteries

“…This is because of their multiple valence states (+3, +4 and +5) for higher capacity than other types of materials and a suitable structure to achieve favourable Zn 2+ insertion/extraction. 9,10 Thus, vanadium oxides and their corresponding analogues may be promising cathode materials for AZMB. 11–13…”