Bimetallic MnMoO4 nanostructures on carbon fibers as flexible cathode for high performance zinc-ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising energy storage devices due to the advantageous features of Zn. However, developing suitable cathode materials with high performance is still an urgent task for the development of ZIBs. In this work, we report on the preparation of a flexible cathode for ZIBs consist-ing of carbon fiber supported MnMoO4 nanostructures protected with N-doped carbon coatings (CF/ MnMoO4@NCs). The N-doped carbon coating on MnMoO4 nanostructures can buffer volume expansion of MnMoO4, and the CF and NCs with good electronic conductivity can facilitate quick electrons trans-portation in the CF/MnMoO4@NCs system. The optimized CF/MnMoO4@NCs cathode exhibits high capac-ity and good rate capability. Specifically, it delivers an outstanding discharge capacity of 663 mA h g-1 at a current density of 0.1 A/g after 100 cycles, and at a current density of 2 A/g, the cathode can still achieve a discharge capacity of 212 mA h g-1. This work expands the choice of cathode material and provides con-structive direction on designing high-performance cathode materials for ZIBs.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study reports a flexible cathode material for ZIBs, composed of carbon fiber-supported MnMoO4 nanostructures protected with N-doped carbon coatings (CF/MnMoO4@NCs). The N-doped carbon coating on MnMoO4 nanostructures can buffer volume expansion of MnMoO4, and the CF and NCs with good electronic conductivity can facilitate quick electrons transportation in the CF/MnMoO4@NCs system. The optimized CF/MnMoO4@NCs cathode exhibits high capacity and good rate capability, delivering outstanding discharge capacity and cycling stability, offering constructive directions for designing high-performance cathode materials for ZIBs.