Ni3S2 Nanocomposite Structures Doped with Zn and Co as Long-Lifetime, High-Energy-Density, and Binder-Free Cathodes in Flexible Aqueous Nickel-Zinc Batteries

Yang Zhou; Xin Tong; Ning Pang; Yanping Deng; Chenhuan Yan; Dajun Wu; Shaohui Xu; Dayuan Xiong; Lianwei Wang; Paul K Chu

doi:10.1021/acsami.1c08108

Ni₃S₂ Nanocomposite Structures Doped with Zn and Co as Long-Lifetime, High-Energy-Density, and Binder-Free Cathodes in Flexible Aqueous Nickel-Zinc Batteries

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Jul 28;13(29):34292-34300. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c08108. Epub 2021 Jul 14.

Authors

Yang Zhou¹, Xin Tong^{1

2}, Ning Pang¹, Yanping Deng¹, Chenhuan Yan¹, Dajun Wu^{1

3}, Shaohui Xu¹, Dayuan Xiong^{1

4}, Lianwei Wang^{1

2}, Paul K Chu²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, and Department of Electronic Engineering, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
² Department of Physics, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
³ Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, School of Electronic Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China.
⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Multidimensional Information Processing, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, P. R. China.

PMID: 34259494
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c08108

Abstract

Flexible rechargeable Zn//Ni batteries are attractive owing to their high energy density, good safety, inexpensive cost, and simple manufacturing process. However, the effects of metal doping on the properties of Ni₃S₂ cathodes in Zn/Ni batteries are not well understood. Herein, a binder-free Ni₃S₂ electrode is doped with Zn and Co and the nanocomposite structures are prepared on nickel foam (named ZCNS/NF) by a simple two-step hydrothermal technique. The ZCNS/NF//Zn battery delivers excellent electrochemical performance such as a working voltage window can be as high as 2.05 V, a capacity of 2.3 mAh cm^-2 at 12 mA cm^-2, and 82% retention going through 2000 cycles at 20 mA cm^-2. The battery has a maximum output area energy density of 1.8 mWh cm^-2 (462 Wh kg^-1) and a power density of 36.8 mW cm^-2 (9.2 kW kg^-1). In addition, the flexible battery remains operational while being bent at a large angle and even punctured. The high performance and robustness of the composite cathode suggest that the design principle and materials have large commercial potential in Ni//Zn batteries.

Keywords: Zn and Co doping; Zn//Ni battery; binder-free battery; flexibility; hydrogels.