Polyethylene (PE) reduction method towards V2O3@C-PE as cathode of zinc ion batteries with high stability and capacity

Vanadium-based aqueous zinc ion batteries materials have high theoretical specific capacity and have advantages in energy storage. But poor conductivity, stability and high manufacturing cost are not conducive to its development. In this work, we prepare V2O3@C-PE by reducing ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3) with lowcost polyethylene (PE). PE creates a large amount of hole structure for the V2O3@C-PE sample, and the V2O3 agglomeration is inhibited by the combination of reduced V2O3 and PE carbon. In ZnSO4 electrolyte system, the specific capacity of V2O3@C-PE electrode reaches 393 mA h g-1 at the current density of 0.1 A g-1, and the capacity retention and specific capacity are 97.3 % and 223 mA h g-1 after 1600 cycles at 20 A g-1. In addition, through the study of zinc storage mechanism, the V2O3@C-PE electrode is oxidized to V5O12 center dot 6H2O when first charged and then stores zinc in this form. Due to the excellent electrochemical performance and low manufacturing cost of V2O3@C-PE electrode, we consider it potentially competitive in the field of energy storage.

Automated summary

In this study, V2O3@C-PE electrode was prepared by reducing ammonium metavanadate with low-cost polyethylene, which exhibited high specific capacity and stability in ZnSO4 electrolyte system. The electrode showed excellent electrochemical performance and low manufacturing cost, making it potentially competitive in the field of energy storage.