High energy density flexible zinc-ion batteries enabled by polyaniline-encapsulated molybdenum-doped tungsten oxide nanorods as a zinc intercalation electrode

With the rising technology of flexible and wearable portable smart devices, aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are one of the potential candidates as energy storage devices, however, the uncontrollable growth of Zn dendrites owing to the uneven deposition of zinc during charging, and the scarcity of high-performance electrodes limit the development of high-performance flexible ZIBs. Herein, a novel PAN-I@WMoO3 nanorods (NRs) core-shell nanostructure is designed as an intercalation electrode for the development of aqueous flexible ZIBs. Advancing from a PANI buffer layer and accelerating Zn2+ ion insertion/ extraction owing to the hexagonal crystalline structure of WMoO3, the PANI@WMoO3//Zn/CC battery exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, with a high specific capacity of 329.0 mA center dot h/g at 0.2 A/g, exceptional rate capability, and superior cyclic stability (-90.09 % after 1,000 cycles). In addition, the fabricated flexible ZIBs demonstrate excellent mechanical characteristics. Moreover, the ZIBs deliver a high energy density of 394.8 W center dot h/kg at a power density of 141.6 W/kg. Additionally, a Zn metal-free aqueous Zn-ion battery is successfully assembled with PANI@WMoO3 NRs/CC as anode and a ZnMnO4 as cathode, which exhibits an excellent specific capacity of 247.3 mA center dot h/g at 0.2 A/g, good rate capability and cyclic stability (-94.7 % after 1,000 cycles), signifying the practicability of PANI@WMoO3 NRs/CC as an intercalated anode for Zn2+ ion full batteries.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel PAN-I@WMoO3 nanorods core-shell structure was designed as an intercalation electrode for aqueous flexible zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). The PANI@WMoO3//Zn/CC battery exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance, exceptional rate capability, superior cyclic stability, and excellent mechanical characteristics. Additionally, a Zn metal-free aqueous Zn-ion battery was successfully assembled with PANI@WMoO3 NRs/CC as an anode, demonstrating the practicability of this design for zinc-ion full batteries.