Anti-aggregation growth and hierarchical porous carbon encapsulation enables the C@VO2 cathode with superior storage capability for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Self-aggregation and sluggish transport kinetics of cathode materials would usually lead to the poor electrochemical performance for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). In this work, we report the construction of [email protected]2 composite via anti-aggregation growth and hierarchical porous carbon encapsulation. Both of the morphology of composite and pore structure of carbon layer can be regulated by tuning the adding amount of glucose. When acting as cathode applied for AZIBs, the [email protected]2-3:3 composite can deliver a high capacity of 281 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. Moreover, such cathode also exhibits a remarkably rate capability and cyclic stability, which can release a specific capacity of 195 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 with the capacity retention of 95.4% after 1000 cycles. Besides that, the evolution including the crystal structure, valence state and transport kinetics upon cycling were also deeply investigated. In conclusion, benefited from the synergistic effect of anti-aggregation morphology and hierarchical porous carbon encapsulation, the building of such [email protected]2 composite can be highly expected to enhance the ion accessible site, boost the transport kinetics and thus performing a superior storage performance. Such design concept can be applied for other kinds of electrode materials and accelerating the development of high-performance AZIBs.