Citation: Mengzhen Kong, Chuanlin Li, Xixi Zhang, Na Li, Jing Zhang, Wenjie Liu, Dingzheng Li, Chenggang Wang, Xijin Xu. High-voltage mild aqueous zinc-manganese battery with two-electron transfer accessed by aluminum ion regulation[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(8): 111868. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111868 shu

High-voltage mild aqueous zinc-manganese battery with two-electron transfer accessed by aluminum ion regulation

Mengzhen Kong ^a ,
Chuanlin Li ^a ,
Xixi Zhang ^a ,
Na Li ^a ,
Jing Zhang ^a ,
Wenjie Liu ^a ,
Dingzheng Li ^a ,
Chenggang Wang ^{a, b, *,} ,
Xijin Xu ^{a, *,}

a.
School of Physics and Technology, University of Jinan, Ji’nan 250022, China
b.
Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China

sps_wangcg@ujn.edu.cn

sps_xuxj@ujn.edu.cn

Received Date: 23 November 2024
Revised Date: 15 September 2025
Accepted Date: 21 September 2025
Available Online: 22 September 2025

Figures(4)

Aqueous Zn//MnO₂ batteries with Mn²⁺/MnO₂ conversion reactions are highly promising due to their high redox potential and low cost. Typically, the conversion of Mn²⁺/MnO₂ occurs at a strong acidic environment to ensure sufficient proton participation in the reaction, which will lead to Zn anode corrosion and electrolyte decomposition. Here, an acid-free mild electrolyte with Al₂(SO₄)₃ as the additive to trigger Mn²⁺/MnO₂ conversion through the hydrolysis of Al³⁺. This approach not only provides protons to enhance the two-electron transfer reaction but also utilizes the electrostatic shielding effect of Al³⁺ effectively inhibiting the formation of Zn dendrites and protecting the Zn anode. As a result, the assembled aqueous Zn//MnO₂ battery exhibits high discharge voltage (1.6 V), long cycling stability (1900 cycles without decay) and excellent rate performance. Meanwhile, the anode-friendly electrolyte facilitates stable Zn plating/stripping and high Coulombic efficiency. This work proposes an effective strategy for enabling the two-electron process of MnO₂ in mild aqueous Zn batteries.
- Zn//MnO₂ battery,
- Mn²⁺/MnO₂ conversion,
- Two-electron transfer,
- Zn metal anode,
- Manganese-based cathode
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