Zeng Guifang, Sun Qing, Horta Sharona, Wang Shang, Lu Xuan, Zhang Chao Yue, Li Jing, Li Junshan, Ci Lijie, Tian Yanhong, Ibáñez Maria, Cabot Andreu
Catalonia Institute for Energy Research - IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, 08930, Spain.
Department of Electronic and Biomedical Engineering, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
Adv Mater. 2024 Jan;36(1):e2305128. doi: 10.1002/adma.202305128. Epub 2023 Oct 18.
Low-cost, safe, and environmental-friendly rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising as next-generation energy storage devices for wearable electronics among other applications. However, sluggish ionic transport kinetics and the unstable electrode structure during ionic insertion/extraction hamper their deployment. Herein, a new cathode material based on a layered metal chalcogenide (LMC), bismuth telluride (Bi Te ), coated with polypyrrole (PPy) is proposed. Taking advantage of the PPy coating, the Bi Te @PPy composite presents strong ionic absorption affinity, high oxidation resistance, and high structural stability. The ZIBs based on Bi Te @PPy cathodes exhibit high capacities and ultra-long lifespans of over 5000 cycles. They also present outstanding stability even under bending. In addition, here the reaction mechanism is analyzed using in situ X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and computational tools and it is demonstrated that, in the aqueous system, Zn is not inserted into the cathode as previously assumed. In contrast, proton charge storage dominates the process. Overall, this work not only shows the great potential of LMCs as ZIB cathode materials and the advantages of PPy coating, but also clarifies the charge/discharge mechanism in rechargeable ZIBs based on LMCs.
低成本、安全且环保的可充电水系锌离子电池（ZIBs）作为下一代储能设备，在可穿戴电子设备等其他应用中具有广阔前景。然而，离子传输动力学缓慢以及离子插入/脱出过程中电极结构不稳定阻碍了它们的应用。在此，我们提出一种基于层状金属硫族化合物（LMC）碲化铋（Bi₂Te₃）并涂覆有聚吡咯（PPy）的新型阴极材料。利用PPy涂层，Bi₂Te₃@PPy复合材料表现出很强的离子吸收亲和力、高抗氧化性和高结构稳定性。基于Bi₂Te₃@PPy阴极的ZIBs展现出高容量和超过5000次循环的超长寿命。即使在弯曲状态下，它们也表现出出色的稳定性。此外，本文使用原位X射线衍射、X射线光电子能谱和计算工具分析了反应机理，结果表明，在水系体系中，锌并非如之前所假设的那样插入阴极。相反，质子电荷存储主导了这一过程。总体而言，这项工作不仅展示了LMCs作为ZIB阴极材料的巨大潜力以及PPy涂层的优势，还阐明了基于LMCs的可充电ZIBs的充放电机理。
