Layered VOPO4 as a cathode material for rechargeable Zinc-ion battery : effect of polypyrrole intercalation in the host and water concentration in the electrolyte

• Main Authors: Verma, Vivek, Kumar, Sonal, Manalastas, William, Jr., Zhao, Jin, Chua, Rodney, Meng, Shize, Kidkhunthod, Pinit, Srinivasan, Madhavi
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials; Intercalation Cathode; VOPO4
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147547
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (RZIB) present an interesting alternative to rechargeable Li-ion batteries. Among the active materials, layered vanadium-based oxides show a poor cell voltage but modifying this structure by attaching a phosphate group to the vanadium redox center can drastically enhance the cathode voltage. With this layered VOPO4 material, we demonstrate that pre-intercalating polypyrrole between crystallographic layers and using electrolyte with controlled water amounts are two absolutely essential conditions for easy and reversible Zn2+ (de)intercalation, thus vastly improving battery outputs and long-term capacity retention. We establish that the rational design of open-layered structures hinges imperatively on factors like host structural integrity and electrode-electrolyte compatibility in delivering the performance of multivalent-ion batteries.