Electrode and Electrolyte Co-Energy-Storage Electrochemistry Enables High-Energy Zn-S Decoupled Batteries

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) p. e2402325
• Main Authors: He, Ze, Hui, Yuheng, Yang, Yixu, Xiong, Fangyu, Li, Shidong, Wang, Jiajing, Cao, Ruyue, Tan, Shuangshuang, An, Qinyou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.06.2024
• Subjects: sulfur cathode; aqueous batteries; Cu‐S electrochemistry; high‐energy; energy storage mechanism
• ISSN: 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202402325

In the search for next-generation green energy storage solutions, Cu-S electrochemistry has recently gained attraction from the battery community owing to its affordability and exceptionally high specific capacity of 3350 mAh g . However, the inferior conductivity and substantial volume expansion of the S cathode hinder its cycling stability, while the low output voltage limits its energy density. Herein, a hollow carbon sphere (HCS) is synthesized as a 3D conductive host to achieve a stable S@HCS cathode, which enables an outstanding cycling performance of 2500 cycles (over 9 months). To address the latter, a Zn//S@HCS alkaline-acid decoupled cell is configured to increase the output voltage from 0.18 to 1.6 V. Moreover, an electrode and electrolyte co-energy storage mechanism is proposed to offset the reduction in energy density resulting from the extra electrolyte required in Zn//S decoupled cells. When combined, the Zn//S@HCS alkaline-acid decoupled cell delivers a record energy density of 334 Wh kg based on the mass of the S cathode and CuSO electrolyte. This work tackles the key challenges of Cu-S electrochemistry and brings new insights into the rational design of decoupled batteries.