1. Synergetic bifunctional Cu-In alloy interface enables Ah-level Zn metal pouch cells.
- Author
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Zhang M, Sun C, Chen G, Kang Y, Lv Z, Yang J, Li S, Lin P, Tang R, Wen Z, Li CC, Zhao J, and Yang Y
- Abstract
Rechargeable aqueous zinc-metal batteries, considered as the possible post-lithium-ion battery technology for large-scale energy storage, face severe challenges such as dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution side reaction (HER) on Zn negative electrode. Herein, a three-dimensional Cu-In alloy interface is developed through a facile potential co-replacement route to realize uniform Zn nucleation and HER anticatalytic effect simultaneously. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results demonstrate that this bifunctional Cu-In alloy interface inherits the merits of low Zn-nucleation overpotential and high HER overpotential from individual copper and indium constituents, respectively. Moreover, the dynamical self-reconstruction during cycling leads to an HER-anticatalytic and zincophilic gradient hierarchical structure, enabling highly reversible Zn chemistry with dendrite-free Zn (002) deposition and inhibited HER. Moreover, the improved interface stability featured by negligible pH fluctuations in the diffusion layer and suppressed by-product formation is evidenced by in-situ scanning probe technology, Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical gas chromatography. Consequently, the lifespan of the CuIn@Zn symmetric cell is extended to more than one year with a voltage hysteresis of 6 mV. Importantly, the CuIn@Zn negative electrode is also successfully coupled with high-loading iodine positive electrode to fabricate Ah-level (1.1 Ah) laminated pouch cell, which exhibits a capacity retention of 67.9% after 1700 cycles., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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