Development of high-performance rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries

Abstract

Rechargeable batteries are well-known energy storage devices nowadays. Rechargeable batteries have become a necessary device in the modern world because they provide a portable way of delivering energy. Rechargeable batteries were discovered a way before, so their development has been done extensively, and as a result, Li-ion batteries having organic solvents are proven best and commercialized also. However, using Organic solvents and Li-ion makes it dangerous and expensive, respectively. So, Using Zn-ion with aqueous solvents for electrolytes can be beneficial in terms of cost and safety. Aqueous-ion batteries also face some inherent issues that do not allow them to achieve high voltage and high capacity. Here, we investigated Anode and Cathode material and used some novel methods to fabricate a high-performing Anode and Cathode material with water-in-salt type electrolyte. We have achieved a capacity of 320 mAh/g by using a carbon cloth current collector, whereas using a Ti current collector gave 250 mAh/g capacity with 3 M Zn(OTf)2 electrolyte. On the other hand, the same configuration and Sn-coated Zn provide less capacity of 280 mAh/g and 220 mAh/g, respectively, for Carbon cloth and Ti current collectors, respectively. The battery in which we have added 0.1 M Mn salt has shown improved performance with 300 mAh/g capacity for the Ti current collector.