Novel 3D Nanoporous Zn–Cu Alloy as Long‐Life Anode toward High‐Voltage Double Electrolyte Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

The recharge ability of zinc metal‐based aqueous batteries is greatly limited by the zinc anode. The poor cycling durability of Zn anodes is attributed to the dendrite growth, shape change and passivation, but this issue has been ignored by using an excessive amount of Zn in the past. Herein, a 3D nanoporous (3D NP) Zn–Cu alloy is fabricated by a sample electrochemical‐assisted annealing thermal method combined, which can be used directly as self‐supported electrodes applied for renewable zinc‐ion devices. The 3D NP architectures electrode offers high electron and ion transport paths and increased material loading per unit substrate area, which can uniformly deposit/strip Zn and improve charge storage ability. Benefiting from the intrinsic materials and architectures features, the 3D NP Zn–Cu alloy anode exhibits high areal capacity and excellent cycling stability. Further, the fabricated high‐voltage double electrolyte aqueous Zn–Br2 battery can deliver maximum areal specific capacity of ≈1.56 mAh cm−2, which is close to the level of typical commercial Li‐ion batteries. The excellent performance makes it an ideal candidate for next‐generation aqueous zinc‐ion batteries.

Comprehensive Analyses of Aqueous Zn Metal Batteries: Characterization Methods, Simulations, and Theoretical Calculations

“…[ 24–26 ] Among them, aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) have become competitive candidates due to the abundance of zinc (Zn), the low overpotential (−0.762 V vs standard hydrogen electrode), and the high gravimetric capacity (820 mAh g −1 ) and volumetric capacity (5855 mAh cm −3 ). [ 27–34 ] In addition, there have been many studies on cathode materials in AZMBs, which include inorganic materials (such as vanadium‐based compounds and manganese‐based compounds), inorganic–organic hybrids (such as Prussian blue and its analogs), and organic materials (such as chloranil, phenanthrenequinone triangles, and covalent organic frameworks). [ 35–40 ] Such rich material systems provide more possibilities for the commercial development of AZMBs.…”

Aqueous Rechargeable Zn‐ion Batteries: Strategies for Improving the Energy Storage Performance

“…Liu et al have recently developed 3D nanoporous ZnÀ Cu alloy as a self-supported ZIB anode. [262] The 3D nanoporous architecture electrode is superior to that of previously reported planar Zn and powder-bed electrodes in terms of low ionic and contact resistance, interconnected ion transport network, large contact area with electrolyte and longer cycling stability (Figure 14c). [262] Benefiting from the fast surface diffusivity of Cu, the anode material suppresses the dendrite growth to a large extent by resisting the charge accumulation and reducing the nucleation overpotential of Zn (Figure 14d).…”

“…The alloy-based anodes have also been proposed to replace the traditional Zn anode for mitigating the dendrite formation. [261,262] Very recently, Wang et al developed eutectic zinc-aluminium alloy based alternate anode for ZIB. [261] The eutectic Zn 88 Al 12 (at %) alloys are produced by alloying pure Zn and Al metals at various cooling rates from~10 to~300 K s À 1 .…”

“…[262] Benefiting from the fast surface diffusivity of Cu, the anode material suppresses the dendrite growth to a large extent by resisting the charge accumulation and reducing the nucleation overpotential of Zn (Figure 14d). [262]…”

Understanding the Design Principles of Advanced Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Battery Cathodes: From Transport Kinetics to Structural Engineering, and Future Perspectives

“…[30,201,202] Most importantly, large amounts of previous researches indicate that doping modification can be expected to tune the electronic structure and surface properties of the cathode materials, and thus improving their reaction kinetics and electrochemical performance. [48,203]…”