Graphene scaffolds entrapped polyacrylonitrile electrospun nanofibrous separator for aqueous zinc-ion storage application

Separators are crucial passive components in batteries, ensuring electrical isolation and enhanced processability for energy storage applications. The shortcomings of the conventional separators remain a key challenge for industrial-scale applications. The advanced separators that enable fast ion transport and uniform zinc deposition are essential for improving the stability and cycle life of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Hence, this work involves the fabrication of pure polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer (PP) and graphene scaffold (1wt.%, 3wt.%, and 5wt.%) incorporated PAN (PG1, PG3, and PG5) membrane and the prepared membranes were subjected to various physical, chemical, thermal, mechanical, and electrochemical studies to investigate their extensive characteristics and their performance as a separator. The graphene-incorporated PG1 membrane exhibits enhanced thermal stability, mechanical strength, ionic conductivity, and electrochemical performance compared with other membranes. In particular, the cell with a PG1 membrane as the separator exhibits a stable cycle life of approximately 1000 cycles at 1 mA and displays a superior battery capacity of 287 mAh g− 1 at 0.3 mA, which is higher than that of the PP separator. Notably, the graphene additive strategy directly demonstrates improved electrochemical characteristics, highlighting the safe, enhanced performance and reliability of AZIBs and their promising potential for large-scale energy storage applications.