Lithium Salt Dissociation Promoted by 18-Crown-6 Ether Additive toward Dilute Electrolytes for High Performance Lithium Oxygen Batteries

Lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) are well known for their high energy density. However, their reversibility and rate performance are challenged due to the sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) kinetics, serious side reactions and uncontrollable Li dendrite growth. The electrolyte plays a key role in transport of Li⁺ and reactive oxygen species in LOBs. Here, we tailored a dilute electrolyte by screening suitable crown ether additives to promote lithium salt dissociation and Li⁺ solvation through electrostatic interaction. The electrolyte containing 100 mM 18-crown-6 ether (100-18C6) exhibits enhanced electrochemical stability and triggers a solution-mediated Li₂O₂ growth pathway in LOBs, showing high discharge capacity of 10 828.8 mAh g_carbon⁻¹. Moreover, optimized electrode/electrolyte interfaces promote ORR/OER kinetics on cathode and achieve dendrite-free Li anode, which enhances the cycle life. This work casts new lights on the design of low-cost dilute electrolytes for high performance LOBs.     

Nature-inspired Three-dimensional Au/Spinach as a Binder-free and Self-standing Cathode for High-performance Li-O2 Batteries

Design and fabrication of functional porous air cathode materials with superior catalytic activity is still the key point for non-aqueous lithium-oxygen(Li-O₂) batteries. Herein, inspired by the self-standing three-dimensional(3D) structure of the natural spinach leaves, a unique binder-free and self-standing porous Au/spinach cathode for high-performance Li-O₂ batteries has been developed. The carbonized spinach leaves serve as a superconductive current collector and an ideal porous host for accommodating catalysts. The Au/spinach cathode could offer enough spaces for accommodating the discharge products, shorten the distance of the oxygen and electrolyte diffusion, and promote the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) processes. This optimized Au/spinach cathode achieved a high specific area capacity of 7.23 mA‧h/cm² at a current density of 0.05 mA/cm² and exhibited excellent stability(280 cycles at 0.05 mA/cm² with a fixed capacity of 0.2 mA‧h/cm²). The superior performance encourages the construction of more advanced cathode architectures by the use of bio-composites for Li-O₂ batteries.     

Advanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from Surface-Mounted Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives are considered as promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are important for many energy provision technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and some types of advanced batteries. In this work, a “strain modulation” approach has been applied through the use of surface-mounted NiFe-MOFs in order to design an advanced bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalyst. The material exhibits an excellent OER activity in alkaline media, reaching an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of only ≈210 mV. It demonstrates operational long-term stability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm⁻² and exhibits the so far narrowest “overpotential window” ΔE_ORR-OER of 0.69 V in 0.1 m KOH with a mass loading being two orders of magnitude lower than that of benchmark electrocatalysts.     

Filling the Charge–Discharge Voltage Gap in Flexible Hybrid Zinc-Based Batteries by Utilizing a Pseudocapacitive Material

The high charge–discharge voltage gap is one of the main bottlenecks of zinc–air batteries (ZABs) because of the kinetically sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) on the oxygen electrode side. Thus, an efficient bifunctional catalyst for ORR and OER is highly desired. Herein, honeycomb-like MnCo₂O_4.5 spheres were used as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst. It was demonstrated that both ORR and OER catalytic activity are promoted by Mn^IV-induced oxygen vacancy defects and multiple active sites. Importantly, the multivalent ions present in the material and its defect structure endow stable pseudocapacitance within the inactive region of ORR and OER; as a result, a low charge–discharge voltage gap (0.43 V at 10 mA cm⁻²) was achieved when it was employed in a flexible hybrid Zn-based battery. This mechanism provides unprecedented and valuable insights for the development of next-generation metal–air batteries.     

Red Bean Pod Derived Heterostructure Carbon Decorated with Hollow Mixed Transition Metals as a Bifunctional Catalyst in Zn-Air Batteries

Design and synthesis of low-cost and efficient bifunctional catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in Zn-air batteries are essential and challenging. We report a facile method to synthesize heterostructure carbon consisting of graphitic and amorphous carbon derived from the agricultural waste of red bean pods. The heterostructure carbon possesses a large surface area of 625.5 m² g⁻¹, showing ORR onset potential of 0.89 V vs. RHE and OER overpotential of 470 mV at 5 mA cm⁻². Introducing hollow FeCo nanoparticles and nitrogen dopant improves the bifunctional catalytic activity of the carbon, delivering ORR onset potential of 0.93 V vs. RHE and OER overpotential of 360 mV. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) O K-edge map suggests the presence of localized oxygen on the FeCo nanoparticles, suggesting the oxidation of the nanoparticles. Zn-air battery with these carbon-based catalysts exhibits a peak power density as high as 116.2 mW cm⁻² and stable cycling performance over 210 discharge/charge cycles. This work contributes to the advancement of bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts while converting agricultural waste into value-added material.     

Hydrophobic POM Electrocatalyst Achieves Low Voltage “Charge” in Zn-Air Battery Coupled with Bisphenol A Degradation

Zn-air batteriesare a perspective power source for grid-storage. But, after they are discharged at1.1 to 1.2 V, large overpotential is required for their charging (usually 2.5 V). This is due to a sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Incorporating organic pollutants into the cathode electrolyte is a feasible strategy for lowering the required charging potential. In the discharge process, the related oxygen reduction reaction, hydrophobic electrocatalysts are more popular than hydrophilic ones. Here, a hydrophobic bifunctional polyoxometalate electrocatalyst is synthesized by precise structural design. It shows excellent activities in both bisphenol A degradation and oxygen reduction reactions. In bisphenol A containing electrolyte, to achieve 100 mA ⋅ cm⁻², its potential is only 1.32 V, which is 0.34 V lower than oxygen evolution reaction. In the oxygen reduction reaction, this electrocatalyst follows the four-electron mechanism. In both bisphenol A degradation and oxygen reduction reactions, it shows excellent stability. With this electrocatalyst as cathode material and bisphenol A containing KOH as electrolyte, a Zn-air battery was assembled. When “charged” at 85 mA ⋅ cm⁻², it only requires 1.98 V. Peak power density of this Zn-air battery reaches 120.5 mW ⋅ cm⁻². More importantly, in the “charge” process, bisphenol A is degraded, which achieves energy saving and pollutant removal simultaneously in one Zn-air battery.     

Organic pH Buffer for Dendrite-Free and Shuttle-Free Zn-I2 Batteries

Aqueous Zn-Iodine (I₂) batteries are attractive for large-scale energy storage. However, drawbacks include, Zn dendrites, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), corrosion and, cathode “shuttle” of polyiodines. Here we report a class of N-containing heterocyclic compounds as organic pH buffers to obviate these. We evidence that addition of pyridine /imidazole regulates electrolyte pH, and inhibits HER and anode corrosion. In addition, pyridine and imidazole preferentially absorb on Zn metal, regulating non-dendritic Zn plating /stripping, and achieving a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.6 % and long-term cycling stability of 3200 h at 2 mA cm⁻², 2 mAh cm⁻². It is also confirmed that pyridine inhibits polyiodines shuttling and boosts conversion kinetics for I⁻/I₂. As a result, the Zn-I₂ full battery exhibits long cycle stability of >25 000 cycles and high specific capacity of 105.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 10 A g⁻¹. We conclude organic pH buffer engineering is practical for dendrite-free and shuttle-free Zn-I₂ batteries.     

MnO/N-Doped Mesoporous Carbon as Advanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalyst for Zinc–Air Batteries

The development of alternative electrocatalysts exhibiting high activity in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is vital for the deployment of large-scale clean energy devices, such as fuel cells and zinc–air batteries. N-doped carbon materials offer a promising platform for the design and synthesis of electrocatalysts due to their high ORR activity, high surface area, and tunable porosity. In this study, materials in which MnO nanoparticles are entrapped in N-doped mesoporous carbon (MnO/NC) were developed as electrocatalysts for the ORR, and their performances were evaluated in zinc–air batteries. The obtained carbon materials had large surface area and high electrocatalytic activity toward the ORR. The carbon compounds were fabricated by using NaCl as template in a one-pot process, which significantly simplifies the procedure for preparing mesoporous carbon materials and in turn reduces the total cost. A primary zinc–air battery based on this material exhibits an open-circuit voltage of 1.49 V, which is higher than that of conventional zinc–air batteries with Pt/C (Pt/C cell) as ORR catalyst (1.41 V). The assembled zinc–air battery delivered a peak power density of 168 mW cm⁻² at a current density of about 200 mA cm⁻², which is higher than that of an equivalent Pt/C cell (151 mW cm⁻² at a current density of ca. 200 mA cm⁻²). The electrocatalytic data revealed that MnO/NC is a promising nonprecious-metal ORR catalyst for practical applications in metal–air batteries.     

Ionic Liquid Electrolyte with Weak Solvating Molecule Regulation for Stable Li Deposition in High-Performance Li−O2 Batteries

Li−O₂ batteries with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid (TFSI-IL) electrolyte are promising because TFSI-IL can stabilize O₂⁻ to lower charge overpotential. However, slow Li⁺ transport in TFSI-IL electrolyte causes inferior Li deposition. Here we optimize weak solvating molecule (anisole) to generate anisole-doped ionic aggregate in TFSI-IL electrolyte. Such unique solvation environment can realize not only high Li⁺ transport parameters but also anion-derived solid electrolyte interface (SEI). Thus, fast Li⁺ transport is achieved in electrolyte bulk and SEI simultaneously, leading to robust Li deposition with high rate capability (3 mA cm⁻²) and long cycle life (2000 h at 0.2 mA cm⁻²). Moreover, Li−O₂ batteries show good cycling stability (a small overpotential increase of 0.16 V after 120 cycles) and high rate capability (1 A g⁻¹). This work provides an effective electrolyte design principle to realize stable Li deposition and high-performance Li−O₂ batteries.     

Ni3FeN‐Supported Fe3Pt Intermetallic Nanoalloy as a High‐Performance Bifunctional Catalyst for Metal–Air Batteries

Electrocatalysts for both the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER) are vital for the performances of rechargeable metal–air batteries. Herein, we report an advanced bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst consisting of porous metallic nickel‐iron nitride (Ni₃FeN) supporting ordered Fe₃Pt intermetallic nanoalloy. In this hybrid catalyst, the bimetallic nitride Ni₃FeN mainly contributes to the high activity for the OER while the ordered Fe₃Pt nanoalloy contributes to the excellent activity for the ORR. Robust Ni₃FeN‐supported Fe₃Pt catalysts show superior catalytic performance to the state‐of‐the‐art ORR catalyst (Pt/C) and OER catalyst (Ir/C). The Fe₃Pt/Ni₃FeN bifunctional catalyst enables Zn–air batteries to achieve a long‐term cycling performance of over 480 h at 10 mA cm⁻² with high efficiency. The extraordinarily high performance of the Fe₃Pt/Ni₃FeN bifunctional catalyst makes it a very promising air cathode in alkaline electrolyte.     

Utilizing Cationic Vacancies and Spontaneous Polarization on Cathode to Enhance Zinc-Ion Storage and Inhibit Dendrite Growth in Zinc-Ion Batteries

High energy density and intrinsic safety are the central pursuits in developing rechargeable Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). The capacity and stability of nickel cobalt oxide (NCO) cathode are unsatisfactory because of its semiconductor character. Herein, we propose a built-in electric field (BEF) approach by synergizing cationic vacancies and ferroelectric spontaneous polarization on cathode side to facilitate electron adsorption and suppress zinc dendrite growth on the anode side. Concretely, NCO with cationic vacancies was constructed to expand lattice spacing for enhanced zinc-ion storage. Heterojunction with BEF leads to the Heterojunction//Zn cell exhibiting a capacity of 170.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 400 mA g⁻¹ and delivering a competitive capacity retention of 83.3 % over 3000 cycles at 2 A g⁻¹. We conclude the role of spontaneous polarization in suppressing zinc dendrite growth dynamics, which is conducive to developing high-capacity and high-safety batteries via tailoring defective materials with ferroelectric polarization on the cathode.     

2D Metal–Organic Framework Derived CuCo Alloy Nanoparticles Encapsulated by Nitrogen-Doped Carbonaceous Nanoleaves for Efficient Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst and Zinc–Air Batteries

The development of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) still remains a challenge in a wide range of renewable energy technologies. Herein, CuCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbonaceous nanoleaves (CuCo-NC) have been synthesized from a Cu(OH)₂/2D leaf-like zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-L)-pyrolysis approach. Leaf-like Cu(OH)₂ is first prepared by the ultrasound-induced self-assembly of Cu(OH)₂ nanowires. The efficient encapsulation of Cu(OH)₂ in ZIF-L is obtained owing to the morphology fitting between the leaf-like Cu(OH)₂ and ZIF-L. CuCo-NC catalysts present superior electrocatalytic activity and stability toward ORR and OER over the commercial Pt/C and IrO₂, respectively, which are further used as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts in Zn–air batteries and exhibit impressive performance, with a high peak power density of 303.7 mW cm⁻², large specific capacity of up to 751.4 mAh g⁻¹ at 20 mA cm⁻², and a superior recharge stability.     

Synergistic Modulation of In-Situ Hybrid Interface Construction and pH Buffering Enabled Ultra-Stable Zinc Anode at High Current Density and Areal Capacity

In aqueous electrolytes, the uncontrollable interfacial evolution caused by a series of factors such as pH variation and unregulated Zn²⁺ diffusion would usually result in the rapid failure of metallic Zn anode. Considering the high correlation among various triggers that induce the anode deterioration, a synergistic modulation strategy based on electrolyte modification is developed. Benefitting from the unique pH buffer mechanism of the electrolyte additive and its capability to in situ construct a zincophilic solid interface, this synergistic effect can comprehensively manage the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Zn anode by inhibiting the pH variation and parasitic side reactions, accelerating de-solvation of hydrated Zn²⁺, and regulating the diffusion behavior of Zn²⁺ to realize uniform Zn deposition. Thus, the modified Zn anode can achieve an impressive lifespan at ultra-high current density and areal capacity, operating stably for 609 and 209 hours at 20 mA cm⁻², 20 mAh cm⁻² and 40 mA cm⁻², 20 mAh cm⁻², respectively. Based on this exceptional performance, high loading Zn||NH₄V₄O₁₀ batteries can achieve excellent cycle stability and rate performance. Compared with those previously reported single pH buffer strategies, the synergistic modulation concept is expected to provide a new approach for highly stable Zn anode in aqueous zinc-ion batteries.     

Highly Concentrated Electrolyte towards Enhanced Energy Density and Cycling Life of Dual-Ion Battery

Dual-ion batteries (DIBs) have attracted much attention owing to their low cost, high voltage, and environmental friendliness. As the source of active ions during the charging/discharging process, the electrolyte plays a critical role in the performance of DIBs, including capacity, energy density, and cycling life. However, most used electrolyte systems based on the LiPF₆ salt demonstrate unsatisfactory performance in DIBs. We have successfully developed a 7.5 mol kg⁻¹ lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) in a carbonate electrolyte system. Compared with diluted electrolytes, this highly concentrated electrolyte exhibits several advantages: 1) enhanced intercalation capacity and cycling stability of the graphite cathode, 2) optimized structural stability of the Al anode, and 3) significantly increased battery energy density. A proof-of-concept DIB based on this concentrated electrolyte exhibits a discharge capacity of 94.0 mAh g⁻¹ at 200 mA g⁻¹ and 96.8 % capacity retention after 500 cycles. By counting both the electrode materials and electrolyte, the energy density of this DIB reaches up to ≈180 Wh kg⁻¹, which is among the best performances of DIBs reported to date.     

Advanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from Surface‐Mounted Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives are considered as promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are important for many energy provision technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and some types of advanced batteries. In this work, a “strain modulation” approach has been applied through the use of surface‐mounted NiFe‐MOFs in order to design an advanced bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalyst. The material exhibits an excellent OER activity in alkaline media, reaching an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of only ≈210 mV. It demonstrates operational long‐term stability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm^?2 and exhibits the so far narrowest “overpotential window” ΔE_ORR‐OER of 0.69 V in 0.1 m KOH with a mass loading being two orders of magnitude lower than that of benchmark electrocatalysts.     

Porous Cyclodextrin Polymer Enables Dendrite-Free and Ultra-Long Life Solid-State Zn-I2 Batteries

Zn-I₂ batteries have attracted attention due to their low cost, safety, and environmental friendliness. However, their performance is still limited by the irreversible growth of Zn dendrites, hydrogen evolution reactions, corrosion, and shuttle effect of polyiodide. In this work, we have prepared a new porous polymer (CD-Si) by nucleophilic reaction of β-cyclodextrin with SiCl₄, and CD-Si is applied to the solid polymer electrolyte (denoted PEO/PVDF/CD-Si) to solve above-mentioned problems. Through the anchoring of the CD-Si, a conductive network with dual transmission channels was successfully constructed. Due to the non-covalent anchoring effect, the ionic conductivity of the solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) can reach 1.64×10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C. The assembled symmetrical batteries can achieve highly reversible dendrite-free galvanizing/stripping (stable cycling for 7500 h at 5 mA cm⁻² and 1200 h at 20 mA cm⁻²). The solid-state Zn-I₂ battery shows an ultra-long life of over 35,000 cycles at 2 A g⁻¹. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to elucidate the working mechanism of CD-Si in the polymer matrix. This work provides a novel strategy towards solid electrolytes for Zn-I₂ batteries.     

High-Voltage Rechargeable Alkali–Acid Zn–PbO2 Hybrid Battery

Aqueous rechargeable batteries have attracted attention owning to their advantages of safety, low cost, and sustainability, while the limited electrochemical stability window (1.23 V) of water leads to their failure in competition with organic-based lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report an alkali–acid Zn–PbO₂ hybrid aqueous battery obtained by coupling an alkaline Zn anode with an acidic PbO₂ cathode. It shows the capability to deliver an impressively high open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 3.09 V and an operate voltage of 2.95 V at 5 mA cm⁻², thanks to the contribution of expanding the voltage window and the electrochemical neutralization energy from the alkali–acid asymmetric-electrolyte hybrid cell. The hybrid battery can potentially deliver a large area capacity over 2 mAh cm⁻² or a high energy density of 252.39 Wh kg⁻¹ and shows almost no fading in area capacity over 250 charge–discharge cycles.     

Regulated Ion/Electron-Conducting Interphase Enables Stable Zinc-Metal Anodes for Aqueous Zinc-Ions Batteries

Metallic Zinc (Zn) is considered as a remarkably promising anode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries due to its high volumetric capacity and low redox potential. Unfortunately, dendritic growth and severe side reactions destabilizes the electrode/electrolyte interface, and ultimately reduce the electrochemical performance. Here, an artificial protective layer (APL) with a regulated ion and electron-conducting interphase is constructed on the Zn-metal anode to provide excellent interfacial stability in high-rate cycling. The superior ionic and moderate electronic conductivity of the APL derives from the co-embedding of MXene and Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂ salts into the polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel, which enables a synergistic effect of local current density reduction during plating and ion transport acceleration during stripping for Zn anode. Furthermore, the high Young's modulus of the protective layer and dendrite-free deposition morphology during cycling suppresses hydrogen evolution reactions (2.5 mmol h⁻¹ cm⁻²) and passivation. As a result, in symmetrical cell tests, the modified battery presents a stable life of over 2000 cycles at ultra-high current density of 20 mA cm⁻². This research presents a new insight into the formation and regulation of stable electrode-electrolyte interface for the Zn-metal anode.     

Proton-Reservoir Hydrogel Electrolyte for Long-Term Cycling Zn/PANI Batteries in Wide Temperature Range

Advanced aqueous batteries are promising for next generation flexible devices owing to the high safety, yet still requiring better cycling stability and high capacities in wide temperature range. Herein, a polymeric acid hydrogel electrolyte (PAGE) with 3 M Zn(ClO₄)₂ was fabricated for high performance Zn/polyaniline (PANI) batteries. With PAGE, even at −35 °C the Zn/Zn symmetrical battery can keep stable for more than 1 500 h under 2 mA cm⁻², and the Zn/PANI battery can provide ultra-high stable specific capacity of 79.6 mAh g⁻¹ for more than 70 000 cycles at 15 A g⁻¹. This can be mainly ascribed to the −SO₃⁻H⁺ function group in PAGE. It can generate constant protons and guide the (002) plane formation to accelerate the PANI redox reaction kinetics, increase the specific capacity, and suppress the side reaction and dendrites. This proton-supplying strategy by polymeric acid hydrogel may further propel the development of high performance aqueous batteries.     

Metal Phthalocyanine‐Porphyrin‐based Conjugated Microporous Polymer‐derived Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Zn‐Air Batteries

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) as emerging porous materials with diverse structures and tunable building‐units have attracted much attention in the electrochemical field. Herein, we designed phthalocyanine‐porphyrin‐based conjugated microporous polymers as precursors for fabrication of Co, Fe, N tri‐doped graphene composites towards oxygen reduction and evolution reaction (ORR/OER). As expected, the elements cobalt and iron are well dispersed in graphene carbon and interact with the nitrogen sites, thereby providing extra electrocatalytic active sites and enhancing its overall conductivity. Benefiting from its unique design and structure, the obtained catalyst affords a superior bifunctional catalytic activity with a positive onset potential of 0.957 V for ORR, and a low overpotential of 0.36 V for OER. More attractively, the CoFeNG is employed as an air cathode catalyst in Zn‐air batteries, showing a maximum current density of 215 mA cm^?2 and good cycle stability for 20000 s. The rational design of phthalocyanine‐porphyrin‐based derivatives provides a feasible route for the construction of high‐performance ORR/OER catalysts.