Issue

Vol. 16 (2024)

A Sustainable Dual Cross-Linked Cellulose Hydrogel Electrolyte for High-Performance Zinc-Metal Batteries

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01329-0
Haodong Zhang
Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymers‑Based Medical Materials, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
Xiaotang Gan
Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymers‑Based Medical Materials, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
Yuyang Yan
Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymers‑Based Medical Materials, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
Jinping Zhou
Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymers‑Based Medical Materials, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Jinping Zhou

zhoujp325@whu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 106

Abstract

Aqueous rechargeable Zn-metal batteries (ARZBs) are considered one of the most promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage. However, their widespread commercial application is largely plagued by three major challenges: The uncontrollable Zn dendrites, notorious parasitic side reactions, and sluggish Zn2+ ion transfer. To address these issues, we design a sustainable dual cross-linked cellulose hydrogel electrolyte, which has excellent mechanical strength to inhibit dendrite formation, high Zn2+ ions binding capacity to suppress side reaction, and abundant porous structure to facilitate Zn2+ ions migration. Consequently, the Zn||Zn cell with the hydrogel electrolyte can cycle stably for more than 400 h under a high current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, the hydrogel electrolyte also enables the Zn||polyaniline cell to achieve high-rate and long-term cycling performance (> 2000 cycles at 2000 mA g−1). Remarkably, the hydrogel electrolyte is easily accessible and biodegradable, making the ARZBs attractive in terms of scalability and sustainability.


Highlights:
1 A sustainable dual cross-linked cellulose hydrogel with excellent mechanical strength was fabricated from aqueous alkali hydroxide/urea solution using a sequential chemical and physical cross-linking strategy.
2 The hydrogel electrolyte effectively suppresses dendrites growth and side reactions to achieve a stable Zn anode (over 2000 h for Zn||Zn cell), which are proved by a multi-perspective and in-depth mechanism investigation.
3 The hydrogel electrolyte is easily accessible and biodegradable, making the zinc batteries attractive in terms of scalability and sustainability.

Keywords

Cellulose Dual cross-linked Aqueous rechargeable Zn-metal batteries Hydrogel electrolyte
Zhang, Haodong, Xiaotang Gan, Yuyang Yan, and Jinping Zhou. 2024. “A Sustainable Dual Cross-Linked Cellulose Hydrogel Electrolyte for High-Performance Zinc-Metal Batteries”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (February):106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01329-0.
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