Engineered nitrogen doping on VO2(B) enables fast and reversible zinc-ion storage capability for aqueous zinc-ion batteries
Publication Name
Journal of Energy Chemistry
Abstract
Vanadium-based compounds with high theoretical capacities and relatively stable crystal structures are potential cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Nevertheless, their low electronic conductivity and sluggish zinc-ion diffusion kinetics in the crystal lattice are greatly obstructing their practical application. Herein, a general and simple nitrogen doping strategy is proposed to construct nitrogen-doped VO2(B) nanobelts (denoted as VO2-N) by the ammonia heat treatment. Compared with pure VO2(B), VO2-N shows an expanded lattice, reduced grain size, and disordered structure, which facilitates ion transport, provides additional ion storage sites, and improves structural durability, thus presenting much-enhanced zinc-ion storage performance. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that nitrogen doping in VO2(B) improves its electronic properties and reduces the zinc-ion diffusion barrier. The optimal VO2-N400 electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 373.7 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1 and stable cycling performance after 2000 cycles at 5 A g−1. The zinc-ion storage mechanism of VO2-N is identified as a typical intercalation/de-intercalation process.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
Volume
85
First Page
30
Last Page
38
Funding Number
ts201712020
Funding Sponsor
National Natural Science Foundation of China