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Tian S, Hwang T, Tian Y, Zhou Y, Zhou L, Milazzo T, Moon S, Malakpour Estalaki S, Wu S, Jian R, Balkus K, Luo T, Cho K, Xiong G. Suppressing Dendrite Growth and Side Reactions via Mechanically Robust Laponite-Based Electrolyte Membranes for Ultrastable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries. ACS Nano 2023. [PMID: 37505191 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) faces significant challenges because of water-induced side reactions arising from the high water activity in aqueous electrolytes. Herein, a quasi-solid-state electrolyte membrane with low water activity is designed based on a laponite (LP) nanoclay for separator-free AZIBs. The mechanically robust LP-based membrane can perform simultaneously as a separator and a quasi-solid-state electrolyte to inhibit dendrite growth and water-induced side reactions at the Zn/electrolyte interface. A combination of density functional theory calculations, theoretical analyses, and experiments ascertains that the water activities associated with self-dissociation, byproduct formation, and electrochemical decomposition could be substantially suppressed when the water molecules are absorbed by LP. This could be attributed to the high water adsorption and hydration capabilities of LP nanocrystals, resulting from the strong Coulombic and hydrogen-binding interactions between water and LP. Most importantly, the separator-free AZIBs exhibit high capacity retention rates of 94.10% after 2,000 cycles at 1 A/g and 86.32% after 10,000 cycles at 3 A/g, along with enhanced durability and record-low voltage decay rates over a 60-day storage period. This work provides a fundamental understanding of water activity and demonstrates that LP nanoclay is promising for ultrastable separator-free AZIBs for practical energy storage applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Tian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Taesoon Hwang
- Department of Material Science Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Yafen Tian
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Yue Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Long Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Tye Milazzo
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Seunghyun Moon
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Sina Malakpour Estalaki
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Shiwen Wu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Ruda Jian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Kenneth Balkus
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Tengfei Luo
- Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Kyeongjae Cho
- Department of Material Science Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Guoping Xiong
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
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