Heterometallic Seed‐Mediated Zinc Deposition on Inkjet Printed Silver Nanoparticles Toward Foldable and Heat‐Resistant Zinc Batteries

Abstract

To achieve high performed zinc metal batteries, it is imperative to address the issues of dendrite growth and the side‐reactions occurring at the Zn anode, particularly when the batteries are operated at high current densities and high temperature. Herein, a flexible and dendrite‐free Zn metal anode (AgNPs@CC/Zn), which is prepared by inkjet printing silver nanoparticles on a 3D carbon matrix, is reported. Experimental observations and DFT calculation reveal that the Ag nanoparticles can work as heterometallic seeds for zinc deposition, and thus simultaneously improve the zincophilicity and thermal conductivity of the carbon matrix. This not only lowers the Zn nucleation overpotential and guides the uniform Zn nucleation but also promotes the reversible zinc stripping/plating via AgZn alloying/de‐alloying reactions. As a result, the AgNPs@CC/Zn anode presents low voltage hysteresis of 80 mV and superior cycling over 480 h at a high current density of 10 mA cm−2. The AgNPs@CC/Zn anode can enable full cells with exceptional cyclic stability and enhanced high‐temperature endurance. Furthermore, the foldable pouch cell using the AgNPs@CC/Zn anode exhibits high capacity retention regardless of different deformation status. This work demonstrates the promising potential of inkjet printing technology in developing 3D dendrite‐free zinc anode for foldable and heat‐resistant zinc batteries.

Stable Zn Metal Anodes with Limited Zn-Doping in MgF2 Interphase for Fast and Uniformly Ionic Flux

“…S11). The main by-product is dependent on the salts in the aqueous electrolyte; in ZnSO 4 -based electrolyte, the main product is Zn 4 SO 4 (OH) 6 hydrate [ 51 , 52 ], whereas in Zn(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 –based electrolyte, Zn(OH) 2 is mainly formed [ 53 , 54 ]. Importantly, the electrically insulated Zn(OH) 2 material is a representative by-product of the HER in Zn metal electrodes with aqueous electrolytes, and reduces their electrochemical performance.…”

Research Progresses and Challenges of Flexible Zinc Battery

“…In the first 15 cycles, the capacity of the AgNPs@CC/Zn anode cell increased from 182 mA/g to 237 mA/g and maintained a reversible capacity of 218 mA/g, corresponding to a capacity retention rate of 92% ( Figure 10B ). ( Chen et al, 2021a )…”

“…Chen and his colleagues proposed a heterogeneous metal seed-mediated strategy. ( Chen et al, 2021a ). The basic idea is through the inkjet printing on the main chain of the three dimensional conductive printing silver nanoparticles, in order to induce the homogeneous nucleation of zinc, and avoid initial electroplating phase of the dendrite growth.…”

Zinc Anode for Mild Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries: Challenges, Strategies, and Perspectives

“…Besides, the carbonaceous matrix materials have an open 3D skeleton structure; their mechanical flexibility can sufficiently cope with the change in anode volume during cycling, particularly adaptable to shapeable anodes applied to flexible and wearable electronic devices, such as fiber-shaped Zn-ion micro-batteries [ 102 , 103 ]. Up to now, several excellent research works have developed multiple carbon-based structure anodes, mainly based on highly conductive carbon fiber matrix, including carbon cloth [ 104 ], graphite felt [ 105 ], carbon nanotubes [ 106 ], etc. Impressively, the application of flexible 3D carbon nanotubes (CNT) scaffold on Zn anode has attracted much attention (Fig.…”