Issue 2, 2023

A highly conductive gel electrolyte with favorable ion transfer channels for long-lived zinc–iodine batteries

Abstract

Aqueous rechargeable zinc–iodine batteries (ARZIBs), as a powerful energy alternative, have inherent advantages, such as low cost, good safety and environmental friendliness. Unfortunately, uneven Zn deposition with dendrite growth and undesirable side reactions seriously compromises the safety and stability of ARZIBs. Herein, a novel strategy is demonstrated to fabricate highly conductive iota-carrageenan (IC) gel electrolyte. The unique double helix structure with good mechanical properties provides favorable Zn2+ channels guided by sulfate groups, which enables confinement effect and orderly guidance of Zn deposition. Additionally, the activity of water molecules confined in the gel electrolyte is reduced, thus inhibiting the corrosion reactions of the zinc electrode. As a result, the gel electrolyte with remarkable ionic conductivity (42.95 mS cm−1) showed a good cycling stability over 1000 h. Importantly, the Zn–I2 batteries with the IC–Zn gel electrolyte demonstrated remarkable reversibility with an impressive capacity retention (91.9%) over 5000 cycles and high average coulombic efficiency (99.86%). This work provides a reliable strategy to develop natural polymer gel electrolytes to regulate the Zn deposition for advanced rechargeable Zn–I2 batteries.

Graphical abstract: A highly conductive gel electrolyte with favorable ion transfer channels for long-lived zinc–iodine batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
02 Nov. 2022
Accepted
28 Nov. 2022
First published
29 Nov. 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 331-337

A highly conductive gel electrolyte with favorable ion transfer channels for long-lived zinc–iodine batteries

Y. Tian, S. Chen, S. Ding, Q. Chen and J. Zhang, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 331 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC06035C

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