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Pitch-derived 3D amorphous carbon encapsulated sulfur-rich cathode for aqueous Zn-S batteries

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Abstract

Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries have attracted much attention due to their high security, plentiful zinc resources, and environmental friendliness. However, it can only offer limited specific capacity and energy density based on ion insertion chemistry cathode. Herein, we design a low-cost and high-energy density aqueous Zn-S battery where the conversion cathode was fabricated by pitch-derived three-dimensional (3D) amorphous carbon encapsulated industrial-grade sulfur powder. The cost of the chemical substances for this aqueous Zn-S battery might be reduced to $9.38 per kW h based on the affordable cost of the raw ingredients. It is found that the PAC/S-60.33% cathode reveals excellent electrochemical performance, including a high reversible capacity (633.5 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), high energy density (297.5 Wh kg−1), an excellent rate capability (204.5 mAh g−1 at 5.5 A g−1), as well as good cycling stability (180 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles at 5.0 A g−1). Besides, the reaction mechanism of the cathode was investigated using ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It was demonstrated that the cathode undergoes a conversion reaction between S and ZnS. Furthermore, the discoveries also offer prospective possibilities to fabricate more secure and inexpensive battery systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22269024, 21971117), the Ph.D. Research Startup Foundation of Yan’an University (YDBK202022), the Technology Innovation Leading Program of Shaanxi (2022QFY07-04), the Functional Research Funds for the Central Universities, Nankai University (63186005), the Tianjin Key Lab for Rare Earth Materials and Applications (ZB19500202), 111 Project (B18030) from China, the Outstanding Youth Project of Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (20JCJQJC00130), the Key Project of Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (20JCZDJC00650), the National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (BX20220157), the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-cycle Safety for Composite Structures (G2022GXYSOF07), the Tianjin “131” Innovative Talent Team Construction Project, and the Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an, 716000, China

    Kangning Wang, Jianwei Wang, Ziqi Zhang, Wenlin Zhang & Feng Fu

  2. Tianjin Key Lab for Rare Earth Materials and Applications, Center for Rare Earth and Inorganic Functional Materials, Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Smart Sensing Interdisciplinary Science Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute for Advanced Materials, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Yaping Du

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  1. Kangning Wang
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  2. Jianwei Wang
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  3. Ziqi Zhang
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  4. Wenlin Zhang
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  5. Feng Fu
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Correspondence to Jianwei Wang or Yaping Du.

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Supporting information The supporting information is available online at https://chem.scichina.com and https://link.springer.com/journal/11426. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

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Wang, K., Wang, J., Zhang, Z. et al. Pitch-derived 3D amorphous carbon encapsulated sulfur-rich cathode for aqueous Zn-S batteries. Sci. China Chem. 66, 2711–2718 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1711-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1711-x

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