An Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc‐Organic Battery with Hybrid Mechanism

Abstract

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries have been considered as potential energy storage devices owing to their high safety and low cost. Traditional zinc‐ion batteries often implement a typical Zn 2+ insertion/extraction mechanism. Compared with traditional Zn 2+ insertion/extraction mechanism, supercapacitor‐liked dual‐ion mechanism often endow the batteries with higher operating voltage, better rate capability, and longer cycle life. Herein, aqueous Zn/polyaniline batteries are developed, which can combine the Zn 2+ insertion/extraction and dual‐ion mechanisms. The Zn/polyaniline batteries deliver excellent electrochemical performance, especially a long cycle life up to 3000 cycles with high‐capacity retention of 92%. This hybrid mechanism provides a promising battery chemistry. Furthermore, Zn/polyaniline batteries can be assembled into quasi‐solid‐state soft‐packaged and cable‐type configurations and display stable electrochemical performance even under different bending states, showing potential applications for flexible electronics.