Inhibition of Zinc Dendrites Realized by a β-P(VDF-TrFE) Nanofiber Layer in Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries.

Uncontrollable Zn dendrite formations and parasitic side reactions on Zn electrodes induce poor cycling stability and safety issues, preventing the large-scale commercialization of Zn-ion batteries. Herein, to achieve uniform Zn deposition and suppress side reactions, an electrospun ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride--trifluoroethylene) copolymer, a P(VDF-TrFE) nanofiber layer, is introduced as an artificial solid-electrolyte interface on a Cu substrate acting as a current collector. The aligned molecular structure of β-P(VDF-TrFE) can effectively suppress localized current density on the Cu surface, lead to uniform Zn deposition, and suppress side reactions by preventing direct contact between electrodes and aqueous electrolytes.

Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase in Highly Oriented Quinuclidinium Perrhenate (HQReO) Thin Films.

The low-temperature processability of molecular ferroelectric (FE) crystals makes them a potential alternative for perovskite oxide-based ferroelectric thin films. Quinuclidinium perrhenate (HQReO) is one such molecular FE crystal that exhibits ferroelectricity when crystallized in an intermediate temperature phase (ITP). However, bulk HQReO crystals exhibit ferroelectricity only for a narrow temperature window (22 K), above and below which the polar phase transforms to a non-FE phase.