08 March 2024 | Quanquan Guo, Wei Li, Xiaodong Li, Jiaxu Zhang, Davood Sabaghi, Jianjun Zhang, Bowen Zhang, Dongqi Li, Jingwei Du, Xingyuan Chu, Sein Chung, Kilwon Cho, Nguyen Ngan Nguyen, Zhongquan Liao, Zhen Zhang, Xinxing Zhang, Grégory F. Schneider, Thomas Heine, Minghao Yu, Xinliang Feng
This study introduces a proton-selective coating strategy to enhance the charge-storage kinetics and mass loading of high-mass-loading cathodes in zinc batteries (ZBs). The coating, a two-dimensional polyimine membrane (2DPM), is designed with dual ion-transport nanochannels that facilitate H+ conduction while blocking Zn2+. This approach enables a transition from Zn2+-dominated to H+-dominated Faradic reactions, significantly improving the performance of cathode materials such as NaV2O4·1.5H2O (NVO). The 2DPM coating enhances the specific capacity, areal capacity, and energy density of NVO, achieving a 56% increase in specific capacity and a state-of-the-art energy density of 33.8 Wh m-2. The coating also improves cycling stability, maintaining 87.8% of its original capacity after 1000 cycles compared to 68.6% for pristine NVO. Additionally, the 2DPM coating is shown to be universally effective for other cathode materials like ε-MnO2 and α-MoO3, demonstrating its potential for broader application in sustainable zinc batteries.This study introduces a proton-selective coating strategy to enhance the charge-storage kinetics and mass loading of high-mass-loading cathodes in zinc batteries (ZBs). The coating, a two-dimensional polyimine membrane (2DPM), is designed with dual ion-transport nanochannels that facilitate H+ conduction while blocking Zn2+. This approach enables a transition from Zn2+-dominated to H+-dominated Faradic reactions, significantly improving the performance of cathode materials such as NaV2O4·1.5H2O (NVO). The 2DPM coating enhances the specific capacity, areal capacity, and energy density of NVO, achieving a 56% increase in specific capacity and a state-of-the-art energy density of 33.8 Wh m-2. The coating also improves cycling stability, maintaining 87.8% of its original capacity after 1000 cycles compared to 68.6% for pristine NVO. Additionally, the 2DPM coating is shown to be universally effective for other cathode materials like ε-MnO2 and α-MoO3, demonstrating its potential for broader application in sustainable zinc batteries.