Interfacial Engineering with a Conjugated Conductive Polymer for a Highly Reversible Zn Anode.

For Zn metal batteries, the Zn anode faces several challenges, including Zn dendrites, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion. These issues are closely related to the Zn deposition process at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Herein, we propose interfacial engineering to protect the Zn anode and induce homogeneous deposition using conjugated cyclized polyacrylonitrile (cPAN) polymer nanofibers.

Amorphization Stabilizes Te-based Aqueous Batteries via Confining Free Water.

Tellurium (Te), with its rich valence states (-2 to +6), could endow aqueous batteries with potentially high specific capacity. However, achieving complete and stable hypervalent Te0/Te4+ electrochemistry in an aqueous environment poses significant challenges, owing to the sluggish reduction kinetics, the easy dissolution of Te4+ species, and a controversial energy storage mechanism. Herein, for the first time, we demonstrate an amorphous strategy for robust aqueous TeO2/Te electrochemistry.

Tailoring Water-in-DMSO Electrolyte for Ultra-stable Rechargeable Zinc Batteries.

Rechargeable zinc batteries (RZBs) are hindered by two primary challenges: instability of Zn anode and deterioration of the cathode structure in traditional aqueous electrolytes, largely attributable to the decomposition of active H2O. Here, we design and synthesize a non-flammable water-in-dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte to address these issues. X-ray absorption spectroscopy, in situ techniques and computational simulations demonstrate that the activity of H2O in this electrolyte is extremely compressed, which not only suppresses the side reactions and increases the reversibility of Zn anode, but also diminishes the cathode dissolution and proton intercalation.

Polyhydroxy starch with abundant hydroxyls and a unique structure enables uniform Zn deposition.

Zinc metal is a promising anode material for zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), but severe side reactions and dendrite formation hinder its commercialization. In this study, starch is introduced into the ZnSO electrolyte for stabilizing the Zn anode. With abundant hydroxyl groups, starch can reconstruct the H-bond system in the electrolyte, suppressing side reactions.

Uniform single-crystal mesoporous metal-organic frameworks.

The synthesis of mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (meso-MOFs) is desirable as these materials can be used in various applications. However, owing to the imbalance in structural tension at the micro-scale (MOF crystallization) and the meso-scales (assembly of micelles with MOF subunits), the formation of single-crystal meso-MOFs is challenging. Here we report the preparation of uniform single-crystal meso-MOF nanoparticles with ordered mesopore channels in microporous frameworks with definite arrangements, through a cooperative assembly method co-mediated by strong and weak acids.