Porous ZnO Nanosphere Inherently Encapsulated in Carbon Framework as a High-Performance Anode For Ni-Zn Secondary Batteries

Zhuo Li; Xianwei Hu; Jian Kang; Xiaoli Wang; Lingyu Kong; Zhongning Shi; Zhaowen Wang

doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.936679

Porous ZnO Nanosphere Inherently Encapsulated in Carbon Framework as a High-Performance Anode For Ni-Zn Secondary Batteries

Front Chem. 2022 Jun 30:10:936679. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.936679. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zhuo Li¹, Xianwei Hu¹, Jian Kang², Xiaoli Wang¹, Lingyu Kong¹, Zhongning Shi², Zhaowen Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral (Ministry of Education), School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China.

Abstract

Nickel-zinc (Ni-Zn) secondary battery that is environmentally friendly and inexpensive has been regarded as a promising rechargeable battery system. However, the generation of deformation and dendrites of the traditional zinc anode during the cycling can cause capacity degradation and impede its practical application. Herein, we design a hierarchical ZnO nanosphere coated with an inherently derived ZIF-8 porous carbon shell (ZnO@C_ZIF-8) using a simple controllable method. The conductive carbon shell and porous ZnO core can provide more active sites, allow the fast transfer of electrons, and buffer the volume expansion of the electrode effectively. Benefiting from the synergistic effect amid the inherently ZIF-8-derived carbon shell and ZnO core, ZnO@C_ZIF-8 nanospheres exhibit a satisfying capacity of 316 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1 after 50 cycles and an outstanding rate capacity when acting as the anode for a Ni-Zn secondary battery with merchant agglomerative Ni(OH)₂ as the cathode. These results imply that the ZnO@C_ZIF-8 nanosphere is a hopeful anode for a high-energy Ni-Zn secondary battery.

Keywords: Ni-Zn batteries; anode; intrinsic regulation; porous carbon shell; zinc oxide.