Long-Life Aqueous Zinc–Organic Batteries with a Trimethyl Phosphate Electrolyte and Organic Cathode
Miaomiao Wu, Wenqi Su, Xingchao Wang, Zhibo Liu, Fei Zhang, Zhiqiang Luo, Aikai Yang, Palizhaye Yeleken, Zezhong Miao, Yudai Huang
Abstract
Aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs) are environment-friendly batteries with good application prospects. However, their applications are plagued by the dendrite growth of Zn anodes and the absence of suitable cathodes. Herein, we design and realize high-performance AZBs by using an organic cathode of 5,7,12,14-pentacenetetrone (PT) and a trimethyl phosphate (TMP)/water hybrid electrolyte. The COMSOL simulations and spectroscopy studies collectively demonstrate a strong interaction between TMP and Zn 2+, thus changing the solvation structure and suppressing the parasitic reactions, finally enabling dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping. The hybrid electrolyte shows good compatibility with the PT cathode. As a consequence, the Zn//PT full cell employing the hybrid electrolyte exhibits remarkable capacity (229.4 mA h g –1 at 0.1 A g –1 ), extraordinary rate performance, and long-term cycling (84.18% retention after 9600 cycles) at a wide temperature range (−20 to 65 °C).