Highly Porous Free-Standing rGO/SnO2 Pseudocapacitive Cathodes for High-Rate and Long-Cycling Al-Ion Batteries

High Performance and Long-cycle Life Rechargeable Aluminum Ion Battery: Recent Progress, Perspectives and Challenges

The rising energy crisis and environmental concerns caused by fossil fuels have accelerated the deployment of renewable and sustainable energy sources and storage systems. As a result of immense progress in the field, cost-effective, high-performance, and long-life rechargeable batteries are imperative to meet the current and future demands for sustainable energy sources. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are widely used, but limited lithium (Li) resources have caused price spikes, threatening progress toward cleaner energy sources. Therefore, post-Li, batteries that utilize highly abundant materials leading to cost-effective energy storage solutions while offering desirable performance characteristics are urgently needed. Aluminum-ion battery (AIB) is an attractive concept that uses highly abundant aluminum while offering a high theoretical gravimetric and volumetric capacity of 2980 mAh g^-1 and 8046 mAh cm^-3 , respectively. As a result, intensified efforts have been made in recent years to utilize numerous electrolytes, anodes, and cathode materials to improve the electrochemical performance of AIBs, and potentially create high-performance, low-cost, and safe energy storage devices. Herein, recent progress in the electrolyte, anode, and cathode active materials and their utilization in AIBs and their related characteristics are summarized. Finally, the main challenges facing AIBs along with future directions are highlighted.

A lamellar V2O3@C composite for aluminium-ion batteries displaying long cycle life and low-temperature tolerance

Rechargeable aluminum-ion (Al-ion) batteries have important potential for fast charging and safe energy-storage systems. Here, we develop a composite composed of lamellar V₂O₃@C nanosheets, which displays high electrochemical properties as an Al-ion battery cathode. The unique structure is conducive to the rapid insertion and release of Al³⁺ ions, electrolyte infiltration, and improved conductivity. After cycling 500 times, the capacity exceeds 242.5 mA h g^-1. Under a low temperature of -10 °C, the capacity remains 150.8 mA h g^-1, and the Coulombic efficiency is higher than 98.8%. The V₂O₃@C also exhibits a good reversibility verified by using ex situ X-ray powder diffraction patterns, while the constant current intermittent titration technology shows a low reaction barrier, which indicates that the lamellar composite presented here could find significant applications for engineering many high-performance energy-storage systems.