Advanced Fiber-Shaped Aqueous Zn Ion Battery Integrated with Strain Sensor

Stable Interlayer Zinc Plating/Stripping in the Maxwell-Wagner Effect-Enhanced Interface

Zinc metal batteries have recently emerged as a promising stable and reversible anode aqueous battery. However, due to the serious dendrite problem and hydrogen evolution problem of the zinc metal anode, the practical application of the zinc metal battery is limited. Here, we propose Y2O3 as an effective coating, which inhibits hydrogen evolution and side reactions by physical isolation and simultaneously prevents dendrite growth by ensuring a uniform Zn-ion flux and fast transport channels generated by Maxwell-Wagner polarization, thus improving the stability of batteries. Meanwhile, in situ/ex situ characterizations and different simulations are conducted to investigate in detail the effect of Maxwell-Wagner polarization on the performance of Zn metal batteries. The symmetric Y2O3@Zn anode system exhibits a stable electroplating/stripping performance over 780 h and enables the Zn battery to achieve a Coulombic efficiency of up to 99.81% over 1000 cycles by reducing side reactions. The Y2O3@Zn||MnO2 full cell delivers a high energy density of 301.42 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 205.04 W kg-1. The work provides insights into the reversibility and stability of zinc anodes and provides a promising way to promote the practical application of Zn metal batteries.

An Efficient MnO2 Photocathode with an Excellent SnO2 Electron Transport Layer for Photo-Accelerated Zinc Ion Batteries

Photo-accelerated rechargeable batteries play a crucial role in fully utilizing solar energy, but it is still a challenge to fabricate dual-functional photoelectrodes with simultaneous high solar energy harvesting and storage. This work reports an innovative photo-accelerated zinc-ion battery (PAZIB) featuring a photocathode with a SnO2@MnO2 heterojunction. The design ingeniously combines the excellent electronic conductivity of SnO2 with the high energy storage and light absorption capacities of MnO2. The capacity of the SnO2@MnO2-based PAZIB is ≈598 mAh g-1 with a high photo-conversion efficiency of 1.2% under illumination at 0.1 A g-1, which is superior to that of most reported MnO2-based ZIB. The boosting performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of enhanced photogenerated carrier separation efficiency, improved conductivity, and promoted charge transfer by the SnO2@MnO2 heterojunction, which is confirmed by systematic experiments and theoretical simulations. This work provides valuable insights into the development of dual-function photocathodes for effective solar energy utilization.

Building Smarter Aqueous Batteries

Amidst the global trend of advancing renewable energies toward carbon neutrality, energy storage becomes increasingly critical due to the intermittency of renewables. As an alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), aqueous batteries have received growing attention for large-scale energy storage due to their economical and safe features. Despite the fruitful achievements at the material level, the reliability and lifetime of aqueous batteries are still far from satisfactory. Alike LIBs, integrating smartness is essential for more reliable and long-life aqueous batteries via operando monitoring and automatic response to extreme abuses. In this review, recent advances in sensing techniques and multifunctional battery-sensor systems together with self-healing methods in aqueous batteries is summarized. The significant role of artificial intelligence in designing and optimizing aqueous batteries with high efficiency is also highlighted. Ultimately, it is extrapolated toward the future and present the humble perspective for building smarter aqueous batteries.

Recent development of manganese dioxide-based materials as zinc-ion battery cathode

The development of advanced cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) is a critical step in building large-scale green energy conversion and storage systems in the future. Manganese dioxide is one of the most well-studied cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries due to its wide range of crystal forms, cost-effectiveness, and well-established synthesis processes. This review describes the recent research progress of manganese dioxide-based ZIBs, and the reaction mechanism, electrochemical performance, and challenges of manganese dioxide-based ZIBs materials are systematically introduced. Optimization strategies for high-performance manganese dioxide-based materials for ZIBs with different crystal forms, nanostructures, morphologies, and compositions are discussed. Finally, the current challenges and future research directions of manganese dioxide-based cathodes in ZIBs are envisaged.

Smart Aqueous Zinc Ion Battery: Operation Principles and Design Strategy

The zinc ion battery (ZIB) as a promising energy storage device has attracted great attention due to its high safety, low cost, high capacity, and the integrated smart functions. Herein, the working principles of smart responses, smart self-charging, smart electrochromic as well as smart integration of the battery are summarized. Thus, this review enables to inspire researchers to design the novel functional battery devices for extending their application prospects. In addition, the critical factors associated with the performance of the smart ZIBs are comprehensively collected and discussed from the viewpoint of the intellectualized design. A profound understanding for correlating the design philosophy in cathode materials and electrolytes with the electrode interface is provided. To address the current challenging issues and the development of smart ZIB systems, a wide variety of emerging strategies regarding the integrated battery system is finally prospected.

Flexible and Antifreezing Fiber-Shaped Solid-State Zinc-Ion Batteries with an Integrated Bonding Structure

Fiber-shaped solid-state zinc-ion battery (FZIB) is a promising candidate for wearable electronic devices, but challenges remain in terms of mechanical stability and low temperature tolerance. Herein, we design and fabricate a FZIB with an integrated device structure through effective incorporation of the active electrode materials with a carbon fiber rope (CFR) and a gel polymer electrolyte. The gel polymer electrolyte incorporated with ethylene glycol (EG) and graphene oxide (GO) endows the FZIB with a high Zn stripping/plating efficiency under extreme low temperature conditions. A high power density of 1.25 mW cm^-1 and large energy density of 0.1752 mWh cm^-1 are obtained. In addition, a high capacity retention of 91% after 2000 continuous bending cycles is achieved. Furthermore, the discharge capacity is fairly retained at more than 22% even at the low temperature of -20 °C. Toward practical applications, the FZIB integrated into textiles to power electronic products is demonstrated.

Piezoelectric fibers for flexible and wearable electronics

Flexible and wearable electronics represent paramount technologies offering revolutionized solutions for medical diagnosis and therapy, nerve and organ interfaces, fabric computation, robot-in-medicine and metaverse. Being ubiquitous in everyday life, piezoelectric materials and devices play a vital role in flexible and wearable electronics with their intriguing functionalities, including energy harvesting, sensing and actuation, personal health care and communications. As a new emerging flexible and wearable technology, fiber-shaped piezoelectric devices offer unique advantages over conventional thin-film counterparts. In this review, we survey the recent scientific and technological breakthroughs in thermally drawn piezoelectric fibers and fiber-enabled intelligent fabrics. We highlight the fiber materials, fiber architecture, fabrication, device integration as well as functions that deliver higher forms of unique applications across smart sensing, health care, space security, actuation and energy domains. We conclude with a critical analysis of existing challenges and opportunities that will be important for the continued progress of this field.