Scalable fabrication of free-standing and integrated electrodes with commercial level of areal capacity for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Guifeng Zhang; Weijun Zhou; Minfeng Chen; Qiuya Wang; Anxin Li; Xiang Han; Qinghua Tian; Junling Xu; Jizhang Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.169

Scalable fabrication of free-standing and integrated electrodes with commercial level of areal capacity for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Mar:657:263-271. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.169. Epub 2023 Nov 29.

Authors

Guifeng Zhang¹, Weijun Zhou¹, Minfeng Chen¹, Qiuya Wang¹, Anxin Li¹, Xiang Han¹, Qinghua Tian², Junling Xu³, Jizhang Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
² Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
³ School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁴ Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address: chenjizhang@njfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38041971
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.169

Abstract

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) present a highly promising avenue for the deployment of grid-scale energy storage systems. However, the electrodes fabricated through conventional methodologies not only suffer from insufficient mass loadings, but also are susceptible to exfoliation under deformations. Herein, a scalable and cost-effective freezing-thawing method is developed to construct free-standing and integrated electrode, comprising H₁₁Al₂V₆O_23.2, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carbon nanotubes. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of these components, the resultant electrode exhibits superior flexibility and robustness, large tensile strength, exceptional electrical conductivity, and favorable electrolyte wettability. Under a large mass loading of 8 mg cm^-2 (corresponding to a negative/positive electrode capacity ratio of 2.09), the electrode achieves remarkable capacity of 345.2 mAh/g (2.76 mAh cm^-2) at 0.2 A/g and maintains 235.2 mAh/g (1.88 mAh cm^-2) at 4 A/g, while sustaining an impressive capacity retention of 97.7 % over 5000 cycles. These considerably outperform conventional electrodes employing traditional binders. Even at an elevated mass loading of 14 mg cm^-2 or when operated at a low temperature of - 30 °C, the electrode continues to deliver excellent electrochemical performance (e.g., extraordinary areal capacity of 4.32 mAh cm^-2). In addition, the electrode owns outstanding tolerance to external forces. This research contributes to our understanding of the pivotal challenges within the realm of AZIB technology.

Keywords: Aqueous zinc-ion batteries; Flexible batteries; Free-standing electrodes; High areal capacities; Low-temperature performance.