Quasi-solid-state Zn-air batteries with an atomically dispersed cobalt electrocatalyst and organohydrogel electrolyte
Qichen Wang, Qingguo Feng, Yongpeng Lei, Shuaihao Tang, Liang Xu, Yu Xiong, Guozhao Fang, Yuchao Wang, Peiyao Yang, Jingjing Liu, Wei Liu, Xiang Xiong
Abstract
Abstract Quasi-solid-state Zn-air batteries are usually limited to relatively low-rate ability (<10 mA cm −2 ), which is caused in part by sluggish oxygen electrocatalysis and unstable electrochemical interfaces. Here we present a high-rate and robust quasi-solid-state Zn-air battery enabled by atomically dispersed cobalt sites anchored on wrinkled nitrogen doped graphene as the air cathode and a polyacrylamide organohydrogel electrolyte with its hydrogen-bond network modified by the addition of dimethyl sulfoxide. This design enables a cycling current density of 100 mA cm −2 over 50 h at 25 °C. A low-temperature cycling stability of over 300 h (at 0.5 mA cm −2 ) with over 90% capacity retention at −60 °C and a broad temperature adaptability (−60 to 60 °C) are also demonstrated.