Local structure and ion storage properties of vanadate cathode materials regulated by the pre-alkalization

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 1; no. 38; pp. 2552 - 2558
• Main Authors: Shan, Xiaoqiang, Kim, SaeWon, Abeykoon, Milinda, Kwon, Gihan, Olds, Daniel, Teng, Xiaowei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 04.10.2022; Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
• Subjects: Batteries; Charge transfer; Distribution functions; Electrode materials; Electrolytes; Function analysis; Hydrogen; Interlayers; Ion storage; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Metal ions; Rechargeable batteries; Storage batteries; Storage capacity; Vanadate; Vanadates; X-ray diffraction; Zinc
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d2ta04490k

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries using mild acidic electrolytes utilizing a Zn 2+ /H + dual-ion storage mechanism have shown great potential in achieving high energy density comparable to non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries. This study reveals that hydrated alkali-ions regulate the formation of alkali-intercalated vanadate layered compounds. Among various vanadate materials, lithium-intercalated vanadate has the largest interlayer spacing and most disordered local structure, exhibiting the largest storage capacity of 308 mA h g −1 at 0.05 A g −1 for Zn 2+ /H + dual-ion storage and improved charge transfer and transport kinetics and cycling performance, evidenced by in situ X-ray diffraction and ex situ X-ray total scattering and pair distribution function analysis. Our study provides new insight into designing layered vanadate materials for high-capacity aqueous batteries. Alkali metal-ions (A: Li, Na, K) regulate the local structure and long-range order of nanostructured vanadate materials for improved electrochemical performance in zinc-ion batteries.