Triple Regulation of Water Molecules Behavior to Realize High Stability and Broad Temperature Tolerance in Aqueous Zinc Metal Batteries via a Novel Cost‐Effective Eutectic Electrolyte

Abstract The high activity of water in aqueous electrolyte causes drastic side reactions on the Zn anodes, severely limiting the electrochemical performance of aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) under extreme conditions. Herein, levulinic acid is developed as the hydrated deep eutectic solvent (DES), to build a novel non‐flammable and cost‐effective ZnSO 4 ‐based eutectic electrolyte with triple regulation of water molecules behavior, enabling highly stable AZMBs over a wide temperature. In situ experiments, molecular dynamics simulations, and spectroscopy analysis jointly reveal that the DES is capable of comprehensively lowering the water activity by simultaneously controlling the behavior of the free, solvated, and interfacial water molecules within the eutectic electrolyte system. Consequently, the Zn anodes exhibit ultralong cycling stability (4500 h at 1 mA cm −2 /1 mA h cm −2 ), decent Coulombic efficiency of 99.39%, and excellent temperature tolerance (−20–50 °C). Notably, the designed 2.0 Ah Zn//VOX pouch cell exhibits a recorded actual energy density of 37.46 Wh Kg −1 and 95.38 Wh L −1 at the whole cell level, with a remarkable capacity retention of 81.01% after 150 cycles, demonstrating the potential for scale‐up into real AZMBs. This work provides an in‐depth understanding of the correlation between the water molecule behavior and electrochemical properties of AZMBs.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Energy Materials
Published
2024-12-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202403689
Citations
62
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
12.94

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Triple Regulation of Water Molecules Behavior to Realize High Stability and Broad Temperature Tolerance in Aqueous Zinc Metal Batteries via a Novel Cost‐Effective Eutectic Electrolyte

Chengyue Guo, Zhengjun Chen, Lingxing Zeng, Huibing He et al.
62 citations
Advanced Energy Materials
Advanced battery technologies research
12.94
article

Triple Regulation of Water Molecules Behavior to Realize High Stability and Broad Temperature Tolerance in Aqueous Zinc Metal Batteries via a Novel Cost‐Effective Eutectic Electrolyte

Chengyue Guo, Zhengjun Chen, Lingxing Zeng, Huibing He, Yi Tan, Jing Xu, Xin He, Xucai Yin, Wensong Lv, Jinliang Zhu, Le Yang
article en
62 citations

Abstract

Abstract The high activity of water in aqueous electrolyte causes drastic side reactions on the Zn anodes, severely limiting the electrochemical performance of aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) under extreme conditions. Herein, levulinic acid is developed as the hydrated deep eutectic solvent (DES), to build a novel non‐flammable and cost‐effective ZnSO 4 ‐based eutectic electrolyte with triple regulation of water molecules behavior, enabling highly stable AZMBs over a wide temperature. In situ experiments, molecular dynamics simulations, and spectroscopy analysis jointly reveal that the DES is capable of comprehensively lowering the water activity by simultaneously controlling the behavior of the free, solvated, and interfacial water molecules within the eutectic electrolyte system. Consequently, the Zn anodes exhibit ultralong cycling stability (4500 h at 1 mA cm −2 /1 mA h cm −2 ), decent Coulombic efficiency of 99.39%, and excellent temperature tolerance (−20–50 °C). Notably, the designed 2.0 Ah Zn//VOX pouch cell exhibits a recorded actual energy density of 37.46 Wh Kg −1 and 95.38 Wh L −1 at the whole cell level, with a remarkable capacity retention of 81.01% after 150 cycles, demonstrating the potential for scale‐up into real AZMBs. This work provides an in‐depth understanding of the correlation between the water molecule behavior and electrochemical properties of AZMBs.

Advanced Energy MaterialsVol. 15(15)
Fujian Normal University (CN), Guangxi University (CN), Hunan University (CN), State Key Laboratory of Chemobiosensing and Chemometrics (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province, Guangxi University, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Resource Processing and Process Intensification Technology, Guangxi University, Specific Research Project of Guangxi for Research Bases and Talents
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Advanced battery technologies research
12.94
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.