Construction of amorphous V2O5@Ti3C2Tx synergistic heterostructure on 3D carbon cloth substrate by a self-assembled strategy towards high-performance aqueous Zn-ion batteries

Weiwei Wang; Rui Huang; He Peng; Ruiting Hu; Ling Ran; Yu Tao; Li Yani; Jun Yan

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.070

Construction of amorphous V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂T_x synergistic heterostructure on 3D carbon cloth substrate by a self-assembled strategy towards high-performance aqueous Zn-ion batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Jan;653(Pt A):472-481. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.070. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Authors

Weiwei Wang¹, Rui Huang², He Peng¹, Ruiting Hu¹, Ling Ran¹, Yu Tao¹, Li Yani¹, Jun Yan³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, PR China.
² College of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, PR China.
³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, PR China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Utilization of Manganese Resources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, PR China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Power Sources, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, PR China. Electronic address: yanjun@csu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37725877
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.070

Abstract

The emerging aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) with their low price and inherent safety are showing strong competitiveness in the energy storage field. In this work, layer-by-layer stacked amorphous V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂T_x heterostructures anchored on three-dimensional carbon cloth (3D CC), synthesized by annealing process and subsequent in-situ electrochemical induction, are reported as high capacity and stable cathode for ZIBs. In this composite cathode, amorphous V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂T_x synergistic heterostructure provides isotropic Zn²⁺ migration channels and rapid electron transfer kinetics, while the 3D CC substrate can ensure that the bulk phase in the electrode material is also utilized to maximize the synergistic effect. As a result, the CC/a-V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂Ti_x cathode achieves a high specific capacity of 567 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g, a satisfactory rate performance of 213 mAh/g at 10 A/g, together with a long cycle life of 96.2 % capacity retention after 2000 cycles. Ex-situ characterizations show that the CC/a-V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂T_x cathode undergoes a highly reversible Zn²⁺/H⁺ co-intercalation/deintercalation mechanism during the discharge/charging process. In addition, based on the CC/a-V₂O₅@Ti₃C₂T_x cathode, the assembled flexible ZIB can operate properly under different bending degrees, showing its practicality in flexible devices. This work provides insight into the rational design of cathode materials with high Zn-storage performance.

Keywords: Amorphous V(2)O(5); Cathode materials; Synergistic heterostructure; Ti(3)C(2)T(x) MXene; Zn-ion batteries.