A dendrite-free zinc anode for rechargeable aqueous batteries. Issue 38 (28th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jian, Qinping; Wan, Yuhan; Sun, Jing; Wu, Maochun; Zhao, Tianshou
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 8:Issue 38(2020)
• Page Start: 20175
• Page End: 20184
• Publication Date: 2020-09-28
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ta07348b
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : A functional polybenzimidazole nanofiber framework modified copper substrate was designed for dendrite-free Zn metal anodes. Abstract : Zinc is a promising anode material for rechargeable aqueous batteries owing to its high specific capacity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the uncontrollable Zn dendrite growth remains a grand challenge that hinders the practical application of this type of electrode. Here, we create a functional porous polybenzimidazole (PBI) nanofiber layer onto a Cu surface as the substrate of the Zn anode to mitigate dendrite formation. The PBI nanofibers with abundant N-containing functional groups not only allow uniform Zn nucleation on the Cu surface but also facilitate uniform transport of Zn 2+ ions via electrokinetic conduction, leading to a dendrite-free Zn deposition and thus, a highly reversible Zn plating/stripping process. As a result, a symmetric cell equipped with this newly developed Zn electrode is stably cycled for over 1000 cycles without short-circuits at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . More impressively, when paired with a MnO2 cathode, the full cell delivers a nearly 100% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 with a specific capacity of about 150 mA h g −1 . These results demonstrate that the functional porous PBI nanofiber layer created in this work stands to both dramatically extend battery cycle life and boost battery performance.