Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon for high-performance zinc-iodine batteries

Iodine-based aqueous zinc ion (Zn-I2) batteries have received wider attention due to their excellent electrochemical reversibility, low cost and environmental friendliness. In this work, we report a polymeric nanocomposite with great potential for zinc-ion (Zn-I2) water battery. Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) was prepared using phenol, formaldehyde and melamine by a simple and easy sol-gel technique. The rich-pore structure is conducive to improving the adsorption effect of iodine and accelerating the wetting of electrolyte, ensuring the stability of battery during cycling process. The NMC/I2 cathode material exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, which ensure rapid equilibration of iodine adsorption and dissolution in the electrolyte, showing 80.7 % capacity retention and 91mAh g- 1 reversible specific capacity after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g-1.