An Interface-Bridged Organic-Inorganic Layer that Suppresses Dendrite Formation and Side Reactions for Ultra-Long-Life Aqueous Zinc Metal Anodes

Yanhui Cui; Qinghe Zhao; Xiaojun Wu; Xin Chen; Jinlong Yang; Yuetao Wang; Runzhi Qin; Shouxiang Ding; Yongli Song; Junwei Wu; Kai Yang; Zijian Wang; Zongwei Mei; Zhibo Song; Hong Wu; Zhongyi Jiang; Guoyu Qian; Luyi Yang; Feng Pan

doi:10.1002/anie.202005472

An Interface-Bridged Organic-Inorganic Layer that Suppresses Dendrite Formation and Side Reactions for Ultra-Long-Life Aqueous Zinc Metal Anodes

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2020 Sep 14;59(38):16594-16601. doi: 10.1002/anie.202005472. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Authors

Yanhui Cui¹, Qinghe Zhao¹, Xiaojun Wu², Xin Chen¹, Jinlong Yang^{1

3}, Yuetao Wang¹, Runzhi Qin¹, Shouxiang Ding¹, Yongli Song¹, Junwei Wu⁴, Kai Yang¹, Zijian Wang¹, Zongwei Mei¹, Zhibo Song¹, Hong Wu⁵, Zhongyi Jiang⁵, Guoyu Qian¹, Luyi Yang¹, Feng Pan¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Advanced Materials, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
² School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
⁵ Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.

PMID: 32519452
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202005472

Abstract

Aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries (AZBs) are widely considered as a promising candidate for next-generation energy storage owing to their excellent safety features. However, the application of a Zn anode is hindered by severe dendrite formation and side reactions. Herein, an interfacial bridged organic-inorganic hybrid protection layer (Nafion-Zn-X) is developed by complexing inorganic Zn-X zeolite nanoparticles with Nafion, which shifts ion transport from channel transport in Nafion to a hopping mechanism in the organic-inorganic interface. This unique organic-inorganic structure is found to effectively suppress dendrite growth and side reactions of the Zn anode. Consequently, the Zn@Nafion-Zn-X composite anode delivers high coulombic efficiency (ca. 97 %), deep Zn plating/stripping (10 mAh cm^-2 ), and long cycle life (over 10 000 cycles). By tackling the intrinsic chemical/electrochemical issues, the proposed strategy provides a versatile remedy for the limited cycle life of the Zn anode.

Keywords: Nafion; aqueous zinc anodes; dendrites; sulfate permeability; zeolites.

Abstract

Grants and funding