Achieving high-rate and high-capacity Zn metal anodes via a three-in-one carbon protective layer. Issue 34 (11th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Qin, Hongyu; Kuang, Wei; Huang, Dan; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Liu, Jian; Yi, Li; Shen, Fang; Wei, Zongwu; Huang, Yanping; Xu, Jing; He, Huibing
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 10:Issue 34(2022)
• Page Start: 17440
• Page End: 17451
• Publication Date: 2022-08-11
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/d2ta04875b
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : A three-in-one carbon protective layer is introduced on a Zn anode (3D-NC@Zn) for high-quality Zn deposition. The 3D-NC@Zn electrode exhibits long-term stability over 1300 h at both high rate (10 mA cm −2, 1 mA h cm −2 ) and high capacity (1 mA cm −2, 10 mA h cm −2 ). Abstract : The long-standing dendrite and side reaction issues on Zn anodes largely impede the further development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Building artificial interface layers is an effective approach to alleviate these problems. However, traditional interface coatings are limited in achieving stable and high-performance Zn anodes at a high deposition rate and capacity. Herein, a three-in-one artificial layer of three-dimensional porous N-doped carbon (3D-NC) on Zn anodes (3D-NC@Zn) is proposed to improve Zn deposition qualities. Density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrate that the 3D-NC layer provides favorable Zn adsorption sites, uniformizes the surface electrical field, and redistributes the Zn 2+ flux to induce smooth and fast Zn deposition. Consequently, the 3D-NC layer enables Zn symmetric cells with an extended lifespan of 1300 h at high current density (10 mA cm −2 ) and high areal capacity (10 mA h cm −2 ). Besides, the 3D-NC@Zn|VO2 full batteries exhibit a high capacity retention of 82.7% after over 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 and a discharge capacity retention of 64.7% after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g −1 in the 1.12 Ah-pouch cell. This work opens the door for designing multi-functional interfacial layers to achieve high-performance and highly reversible Zn metal anodes.