Empowering Zn Electrode Current Capability Along Interfacial Stability by Optimizing Intrinsic Safe Organic Electrolytes. Issue 2 (2nd December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ilyas, Farva; Chen, Jiahang; Zhang, Yang; Lu, Huichao; Huang, Yudai; Ma, Huiyang; Wang, Jiulin
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie international edition. Volume 62:Issue 2(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-12-02
• Subjects: Intrinsic Safe Electrolyte -- Ionic Liquid -- Organic Solvent -- Rechargeable Zn Battery -- Zn Metal Anode; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202215110
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1433-7851

Abstract

Abstract: Metallic Zn is one of the most promising anodes, but its practical application has been hindered by dendritic growth and serious interfacial reactions in conventional electrolytes. Herein, ionic liquids are adopted to prepare intrinsically safe electrolytes via combining with TEP or TMP solvents. With this synergy effect, the blends of TEP/TMP with an IL fraction of ≈25 wt% are found to be promising electrolytes, with ionic conductivities comparable to those of standard phosphate‐based electrolytes while electrochemical stabilities are considerably improved; over 1000 h at 2.0 mA cm −2 and ≈350 h at 5.0 mA cm −2 with a large areal capacity of 10 mAh cm −2 . The use of functionalized IL turns out to be a key factor in enhancing the Zn 2+ transport due to the interaction of Zn 2+ ions with IL‐zincophilic sites resulting in reduced interfacial resistance between the electrodes and electrolyte upon cycling leading to spongy‐like highly porous, homogeneous, and dendrite‐free zinc as an anode material. Abstract : The electrochemical performances of Zn metal anodes are adjusted using functionalized ionic liquid and phosphate‐based safe organic solvents, resulting in high Columbic efficiency (CE) of over 99 %, long cycle life up to 5.0 mA cm −2, and large areal capacity of 10 mAh cm −2 . The interface derived from ionic liquid effectively accelerates the Zn nucleation, ensures smooth deposition, and reduces side reactions.