Dendrite-free Zn anode supported with 3D carbon nanofiber skeleton towards stable zinc ion batteries

Zn-ion battery (ZIB) is a promising electrochemical energy storage device because of the high performance, safety, and economic benefits, etc. However, the formation of Zn dendrites at anodes is seriously depressed their cycling life, Coulombic efficiency, safety, and capacity. Inhibition of Zn dendrites is considered as an efficient solution to improving the performance of ZIB. Herein, we demonstrate a 3D structured Zn anode coated in carbon nanofiber framework with carbon cloth as substrate (Zn@CCCNF), which has the abundant Zn nucleation sites and homogeneous electrical field distribution for uniform Zn deposition, low nucleation/deposition energy barrier, and the capacity of alleviating side reactions. Thus, the Zn@CC-CNF based symmetric cells is stability operated over 400 h, which is over 400% longer than that of bare Zn coated on carbon cloth (Zn@CC). The impressive performance of the Zn@CC-CNF anode also endows the assembled Zn-MnO2 full cell with long-term cycling stability. Better yet, the intrinsic flexibility of the carbon substrate enables the fabrication of flexible Zn-MnO2 cell with gratifying mechanical deformation tolerance, illustrating their great application potential in flexible energy storage.

Automated summary

Zn-ion battery (ZIB) is a promising energy storage device, but the formation of Zn dendrites at the anode hampers its performance. In this study, a 3D structured Zn anode coated in carbon nanofiber framework was developed to inhibit Zn dendrites and improve battery performance. The resulting Zn@CC-CNF anode demonstrated long-term cycling stability and great potential for flexible energy storage applications.