Electrochemical reaction behavior of MnS in aqueous zinc ion battery

Abstract

Herein, we designed a MnS/C nanosheet (MnS/C) cathode material via the sulfidation of a lab-prepared Mn-based organometallic precursor. The carbon derived from the organometallic precursor endows the MnS/C with decent conductivity, while the high diameter-to-thickness ratio endows it with accessible active sites, effective ion diffusion, and electrolyte permeation. When serving as a zinc ion battery cathode material, the MnS-derived MnO_x shows a high ion diffusion kinetics and cyclability. A high specific capacity of 187.0 mA h g⁻¹ could be obtained after 100 cycles at 0.3 A g⁻¹. The electrochemical reaction mechanism shows that MnS gradually transformed into MnO_x upon the first charge, and the subsequent battery chemistry is actually the intercalation/deintercalation of H⁺ and Zn²⁺ of MnO_x, but no longer MnS.