Citation: Qiuyang LUO, Xiaoning TANG, Shu XIA, Junnan LIU, Xingfu YANG, Jie LEI. Application of a densely hydrophobic copper metal layer in-situ prepared with organic solvents for protecting zinc anodes[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, ;2024, 40(7): 1243-1253. doi: 10.11862/CJIC.20240110 shu

Application of a densely hydrophobic copper metal layer in-situ prepared with organic solvents for protecting zinc anodes

School of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

Corresponding author: Xiaoning TANG, xntang@gzu.edu.cn
Received Date: 3 April 2024
Revised Date: 30 May 2024

Figures(6)

Herein, a dense and hydrophobic Cu metal protective layer was constructed in-situ on the Zn electrode (Cu@Zn) through a displacement reaction in an organic solvent. Specifically, CuI powder was dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and stirred for 12 h to obtain a uniform solution. Subsequently, the bare Zn was immersed in the solution at 80 ℃ for 6 h, and then washed with absolute ethanol three times to achieve the Cu@Zn electrode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirm a dense Cu protective layer on the surface of the Cu@Zn electrode. Additionally, the better hydrophobicity of the Cu@Zn electrode was demonstrated through contact angle measurements with a 2 mol·L^-1 ZnSO₄ electrolyte. The dense and hydrophobic Cu metal protective layer can effectively isolate the direct contact between the Zn electrode and electrolyte, suppressing side reactions such as hydrogen evolution and corrosion at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Furthermore, the Cu layer possesses zincophilicity, reduced interfacial resistance, and a lower nucleation energy barrier, thereby promoting uniform Zn deposition and effectively inhibiting dendritic growth. As a result, Cu@Zn symmetric cells exhibited continuous stable performance for 1 700 and 1 330 h at 1 mA·cm^-2, 1 mAh·cm^-2 and 3 mA·cm^-2, 1 mAh·cm^-2, respectively, which were higher than those of bare Zn symmetric cells (204 and 120 h). Furthermore, the Cu@Zn||MnO₂ full cell delivered a specific capacity of 168.5 mAh·g^-1 at 1 A·g^-1 respectively, maintaining stability for over 2 000 cycles.
- aqueous Zn-ion battery,
- Zn electrode,
- dense and hydrophobicity,
- zincophilicity,
- Cu metal layer
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