With the increasing utilization of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, the development of low-cost, high-performance rechargeable energy storage batteries has become the world's target. Zinc is inexpensive, with a theoretical capacity of 820 milliamperes per gram, and it has good water. Compatibility and stability, suitable for large-scale production applications, so the prospect of rechargeable water-based zinc batteries is broad. However, the development of water-based zinc batteries has been hampered by the limited choice of cathode materials and the slow kinetics of zinc deintercalation.
Organic terpenoids are ubiquitous in nature, and researchers have discovered more than 2,400 species of terpenes from plants, fungi, marine animals, and insects. Developments are based on non-deintercalation reaction mechanisms and multiple electron transfer of novel organic terpenoid electrode materials. It is of great significance to improve the zinc battery capacity and cycle stability.
At present, electroactive europium electrodes generally use organic electrolytes. According to the principle of similar compatibility, tantalum compounds are easily dissolved in organic solvents, resulting in problems such as loss of active materials and short battery life. Academician Chen Jun has been working on organofluorenes for many years. Electrode material design, preparation and application, they use electrolyte modification, polymerization, salination, loading and other methods, not only improve the capacity retention of terpenoids, but also through the rational structure design of terpenoids as a positive electrode applied to a water-retainable system The zinc battery, for the first time, achieved a specific capacity of 335 mAh per gram. The charge-discharge platform voltage difference is as low as 70mV and the energy efficiency is as high as 93%. After 1000 cycles, the battery capacity retention rate is still 87%. The battery cycle stability It is comparable to inorganic electrode materials. The organic zinc-based battery developed by the team can provide an energy density of 220 watt-hour per kilogram, which is far beyond the water-based lead-acid batteries commonly used today, and is equivalent to the current commercial lithium-ion battery. As the water-based zinc battery It has the advantages of high energy density, safety, reliability, low cost, and green environmental protection. It is also important for future electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage. It provides a new choice.