An Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc-Organic Battery with Hybrid Mechanism

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 Zn2+ insertion/extraction mechanism. Compared with traditional Zn2+ 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 Zn2+ 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.