Construction of Mixed Ionic‐Electronic Conducting Scaffolds in Zn Powder: A Scalable Route to Dendrite‐Free and Flexible Zn Anodes

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 34; no. 19; pp. e2200860 - n/a
• Main Authors: Zhang, Min, Yu, Peifeng, Xiong, Kairong, Wang, Yongyin, Liu, Yingliang, Liang, Yeru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2022
• Subjects: Anodes; Cycles; dendrite‐free Zn anodes; Dendritic structure; Electrochemical analysis; Energy storage; flexible Zn anode; Flux density; Materials science; mixed ionic‐electronic conductor; Scaffolds; Zinc; Zn powder; mixed ionic-electronic conductor; flexible Zn anode; dendrite-free Zn anodes; Zn powder
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202200860

Zn powder (Zn‐P)‐based anodes are considered ideal candidates for Zn‐based batteries because they enable a positive synergistic integration of safety and energy density. However, Zn‐P‐based anodes still experience easy corrosion, uncontrolled dendrite growth, and poor mechanical strength, which restrict their further application. Herein, a mixed ionic‐electronic conducting scaffold is introduced into Zn‐P to successfully fabricate anti‐corrosive, flexible, and dendrite‐free Zn anodes using a scalable tape‐casting strategy. The as‐established scaffold is characterized by robust flexibility, facile scale‐up synthesis methodology, and exceptional anti‐corrosive characteristics, and it can effectively homogenize the Zn2+ flux during Zn plating/stripping, thus allowing stable Zn cycling. Benefiting from these comprehensive attributes, the as‐prepared Zn‐P‐based anode provides superior electrochemical performance, including long‐life cycling stability and high rate capability in practical coin and flexible pouch cells; thus, it holds great potential for developing advanced Zn‐ion batteries. The findings of this study provide insights for a promising scalable pathway to fabricate highly efficient and reliable Zn‐based anodes and will aid in the realization of advanced flexible energy‐storage devices. A mixed ionic‐electronic conductor scaffold was introduced into Zn powder to successfully fabricate anti‐corrosive, flexible, and dendrite‐free Zn anodes by using a scalable tape‐casting strategy.