An ultra-high endurance and high-performance quasi-solid-state fiber-shaped Zn–Ag2O battery to harvest wind energy

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2019-01, Vol.7 (5), p.2034-2040
• Main Authors: Li, Chaowei, Zhang, Qichong, Songfeng, E, Li, Taotao, Zhu, Zezhou, He, Bing, Zhou, Zhenyu, Man, Ping, Li, Qiulong, Yao, Yagang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Batteries; Buffer layers; Cathodic protection; Clean energy; Density; Durability; Electronics; Endurance; Energy; Energy harvesting; Energy storage; Flux density; Lithium; Metal-organic frameworks; Migration; Power sources; Rechargeable batteries; Renewable energy; Silver; Solid state; State of the art; Structural integrity; Sustainable development; Wearable technology; Wind power; Zinc
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/c8ta10807b

With the development of wearable electronics, sustainable energy-charged fiber-shaped aqueous rechargeable batteries have become attractive power sources. Environmentally benign zinc-silver oxide (Zn–Ag2O) batteries with high energy density and ultra-stable output voltage have been demonstrated to be promising energy-storage devices. However, the major bottleneck for extensive application of Zn–Ag2O batteries is poor cyclic performance and low energy density due to structural pulverization, migration of Ag ions, and low loading of active substances. Herein, a quasi-solid-state fiber-shaped Zn–Ag2O battery was constructed employing Ag2O on a metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived N-doped carbon nanosheet array (NC) with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) buffer layer as the cathode. A PEDOT:PSS protective layer could suppress structural pulverization and alleviate the migration of Ag ions. An MOF-derived NC skeleton enabled maintenance of structural integrity and increased the mass loading of Ag2O. This resulted in a quasi-solid-state fiber-shaped Zn–Ag2O battery delivering a high energy density of 1.57 mW h cm−2 and remarkable cyclic durability (79.5% after 200 cycles), which are higher than those reported for any state-of-the-art Zn–Ag2O battery. More importantly, the as-fabricated Zn–Ag2O battery could be charged solely by wind energy. Thus, the present work provides a new way to harvest clean and renewable wind energy for portable and wearable electronics.