Nanofiber‐Reinforced Composite Gel Enabling High Ionic Conductivity and Ultralong Cycle Life for Zn Ion Batteries
Wei Hu, Yixuan Zhang, Jingge Ju, Yuanyuan Wang, Zehao Zhang, Weimin Kang
Abstract
Abstract Despite the impressive merits of gel electrolytes for aqueous Zn‐ion batteries, it remains a significant challenge to design and develop the gel electrolyte with high ionic conductivity, excellent dimensional stability, and long cycle life. Herein, a composite electrolyte (PTP) with thermolastic polyurethane ‐poly(m‐phenylene isophthalamide) nanofiber‐reinforced polyvinyl alcohol gel strategy is proposed for highly reversible Zn plating/stripping. Mechanically robust and ultrathin PTP contains functional groups for building ion migration channels and immobilizing water molecules, which accelerates Zn 2+ migration and mitigates water‐related side reactions. Thus, the Zn anodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance involving high cycling stability (6500 h at 5 mA cm −2 , 5 mA h cm −2 ) and achieving an exceptional cumulative capacity of more than 16 000 mA h cm −2 . This enhancement is well maintained when combined with MnO 2 cathode. This work provides a reasonable solution for stabilizing Zn anodes and also provides new ideas for the modification of nanofiber‐reinforced gel electrolytes.