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Water‐Repellent Ionic Liquid Skinny Gels Customized for Aqueous Zn‐Ion Battery Anodes
Author(s) -
Lee Donggue,
Kim HongI,
Kim WonYeong,
Cho SeokKyu,
Baek Kyungeun,
Jeong Kihun,
Ahn David B.,
Park Sodam,
Kang Seok Ju,
Lee SangYoung
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202103850
Subject(s) - materials science , aqueous solution , anode , ionic liquid , electrolyte , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , battery (electricity) , cathode , inorganic chemistry , galvanic anode , electrode , cathodic protection , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Despite the enormous potential of aqueous zinc (Zn)‐ion batteries as a cost‐competitive and safer power source, their practical applications have been plagued by the chemical/electrochemical instability of Zn anodes with aqueous electrolytes. Here, ionic liquid (IL) skinny gels are reported as a new class of water‐repellent ion‐conducting protective layers customized for Zn anodes. The IL skinny gel (thickness ≈500 nm), consisting of hydrophobic IL solvent, Zn salts, and thiol‐ene polymer compliant skeleton, prevents the access of water molecules to Zn anodes while allowing Zn 2+ conduction for redox reactions. The IL‐gel‐skinned Zn anode enables sustainable Zn plating/stripping cyclability under 90% depth of discharge (DOD Zn ) without suffering from water‐triggered interfacial parasitic reactions. Driven by these advantageous effects, a Zn‐ion full cell (IL‐gel‐skinned Zn‐anode||aqueous‐electrolyte‐containing MnO 2 cathode) exhibits high charge/discharge cycling performance (capacity retention ≈95.7% after 600 cycles) that lies beyond those achievable with conventional aqueous Zn‐ion battery technologies.