Layered double hydroxides as a suitable substrate to improve the efficiency of Zn anode in neutral pH Zn-ion batteries

Recently, neutral pH zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have received an increasing attention as a low cost and eco-friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries. At variance with previous publications, we focused on the improvement of the zinc negative electrode in this work. By addition of layered double hydroxides to the preparation of the negative electrode, it was possible to increase the efficiency of zinc electro-deposition from 85% to 98%. This improvement was related to the elimination of a potential drop during the Zn2+ reduction step, avoiding the formation of H-2 at the beginning of the discharging step. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.