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Vol. 15 (2023)

Enhancing Hydrophilicity of Thick Electrodes for High Energy Density Aqueous Batteries

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01072-y
Jungeun Lee
Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 102 Jejudaehak‑Ro, Jeju‑Si, Jeju‑do 63243, Republic of Korea
Hyeonsoo Lee
Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 102 Jejudaehak‑Ro, Jeju‑Si, Jeju‑do 63243, Republic of Korea
Cheol Bak
Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea
Youngsun Hong
Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 102 Jejudaehak‑Ro, Jeju‑Si, Jeju‑do 63243, Republic of Korea
Daeha Joung
Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Jeong Beom Ko
Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 102 Jejudaehak‑Ro, Jeju‑Si, Jeju‑do 63243, Republic of Korea
Yong Min Lee
Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea
Chanhoon Kim
Sustainable Technology and Wellness R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 102 Jejudaehak‑Ro, Jeju‑Si, Jeju‑do 63243, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author: Chanhoon Kim

ckim8608@kitech.re.kr

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 15 (2023), Article Number: 97

Abstract

Thick electrodes can substantially enhance the overall energy density of batteries. However, insufficient wettability of aqueous electrolytes toward electrodes with conventional hydrophobic binders severely limits utilization of active materials with increasing the thickness of electrodes for aqueous batteries, resulting in battery performance deterioration with a reduced capacity. Here, we demonstrate that controlling the hydrophilicity of the thicker electrodes is critical to enhancing the overall energy density of batteries. Hydrophilic binders are synthesized via a simple sulfonation process of conventional polyvinylidene fluoride binders, considering physicochemical properties such as mechanical properties and adhesion. The introduction of abundant sulfonate groups of binders (i) allows fast and sufficient electrolyte wetting, and (ii) improves ionic conduction in thick electrodes, enabling a significant increase in reversible capacities under various current densities. Further, the sulfonated binder effectively inhibits the dissolution of cathode materials in reactive aqueous electrolytes. Overall, our findings significantly enhance the energy density and contribute to the development of practical zinc-ion batteries.


Highlights:


1 Sulfonated polyvinylidene fluoride (S-PVdF) binders with improved hydrophilicity were synthesized via a simple sulfonation process of conventional hydrophobic PVdF binders.
2 The abundant sulfonate groups of S-PVdF binders significantly improved ionic conduction in thick electrodes (~ 6 mg cm−2), enabling improved reversible capacities under various current densities.
3 The S-PVdF binders effectively suppressed cathode dissolution, resulting in enhanced capacity retention at higher temperature operations (45 °C).

Keywords

Thick electrodes Hydrophilic binder Sulfonation Aqueous zinc-ion batteries High areal capacity
Lee, Jungeun, Hyeonsoo Lee, Cheol Bak, Youngsun Hong, Daeha Joung, Jeong Beom Ko, Yong Min Lee, and Chanhoon Kim. 2023. “Enhancing Hydrophilicity of Thick Electrodes for High Energy Density Aqueous Batteries”. Nano-Micro Letters 15 (April):97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01072-y.
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