In-situ growth of Co 3 O 4 nanowire-assembled clusters on nickel foam for aqueous rechargeable Zn-Co 3 O 4 and Zn-air batteries

Peng Tan, Bin Chen, Haoran Xu, Weizi Cai, Wei He, Meng Ni

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

174 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

With the urgent requirements for advanced energy storage systems, rechargeable Zn-based batteries attract research interest due to the remarkable theoretical capacity, low cost, and environmental benignity. Hence, developing effective battery materials are in great need. In this work, an electrode composed of Co 3 O 4 nanowire-assembled clusters is developed. The porous Co 3 O 4 nanowires are directly coupled to the underlying nickel foam to form clusters, avoiding the use of additional binders and conductive carbons. This hierarchical structure not only provides large active surfaces and facilitates species transport, but also favors the structural stability. In an alkaline solution, this electrode exhibits high activity toward both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions and large specific capacitance, indicating the excellent electrochemical performance. A Zn-Co 3 O 4 battery using this electrode delivers an energy density up to 239 Wh kg −1 on the basis of the Co 3 O 4 loading and the theoretical capacity of zinc, and the capacity retention reaches 84.1% after 1000 cycles. Moreover, a hybrid Zn-Co 3 O 4 /air battery fitted with the present electrode exhibits a high capacity of 771 mAh g Zn −1 and excellent cycling stability for over 1000 cycles (over 333 h) at 10 mA cm −2 with a fixed capacity of 1.67 mA cm −2 while maintaining the energy efficiency of ∼70%. The results show that the nickel foam coated with Co 3 O 4 nanowire-assembled clusters is a promising electrode for high-performance rechargeable Zn-based batteries with high energy density, energy efficiency, and cycling stability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)104-112
Number of pages9
JournalApplied Catalysis B: Environmental
Volume241
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2019

Keywords

  • Alkaline solution
  • Binder-free
  • Cobalt oxide
  • Nanowire-assembled clusters
  • Zinc battery

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Environmental Science
  • Process Chemistry and Technology

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