Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted attention as a promising candidate for secondary battery energy storage due to their safety and environmental benefits. However, the vanadium-based cathode material NH4 V4 O10 has the problem of structural instability. In this paper, it is found by density functional theory calculation that excessive NH4 + located in the interlayer will repel the Zn2+ during the process of Zn2+ insertion. This results in the distortion of the layered structure, further affects the diffusion of Zn2+ and reduces the reaction kinetics. Therefore, part of the NH4 + is removed by heat treatment. In addition, the introduction of Al3+ into the material by hydrothermal method is able to further enhance its zinc storage properties. This dual-engineering strategy shows excellent electrochemical performance (578.2 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 ). This study provides valuable insights for the development of high performance AZIBs cathode materials.
Keywords: Al3+ pre-introduction; ammonium cation; ammonium vanadate; density functional theory; zinc-ion batteries.
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