title: A Robust Hybrid Zn-Battery with Ultralong Cycle Life.
abstract: Advanced batteries with long cycle life and capable of harnessing more energies from multiple electrochemical reactions are both fundamentally interesting and practically attractive. Herein, we report a robust hybrid zinc-battery that makes use of transition-metal-based redox reaction (M-O-OH → M-O, M = Ni and Co) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to deliver more electrochemical energies of comparably higher voltage with much longer cycle life. The hybrid battery was constructed using an integrated electrode of NiCo2O4nanowire arrays grown on carbon-coated nickel foam, coupled with a zinc plate anode in alkaline electrolyte. Benefitted from the M-O/M-O-OH redox reactions and rich ORR active sites in NiCo2O4, the battery has concurrently exhibited high working voltage (by M-O-OH → M-O) and high energy density (by ORR). The good oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of the electrode and the reversible M-O ↔ M-O-OH reactions also enabled smooth recharging of the batteries, leading to excellent cycling stabilities. Impressively, the hybrid batteries maintained highly stable charge-discharge voltage profile under various testing conditions, for example, almost no change was observed over 5000 cycles at a current density of 5 mA cm-2after some initial stabilization. With merits of higher working voltage, high energy density, and ultralong cycle life, such hybrid batteries promise high potential for practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Junye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Adeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Chaoliang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.|Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong , Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: T S Andy
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Hor
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Zhaolin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9518-740X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) , 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9934-0889
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zong
keywords: Hybrid zinc-battery; NiCo2O4 nanowire; redox reaction; zinc−air battery; zinc−nickel battery