Electrochemical Generation of Hydrated Zinc Vanadium Oxide with Boosted Intercalation Pseudocapacitive Storage for a High-Rate Flexible Zinc-Ion Battery

With the surging development of flexible wearable and stretchable electronic devices, flexible energy-storage devices with excellent electrochemical properties are in great demand. Herein, a flexible Zn-ion battery comprised by hydrated zinc vanadium oxide/carbon cloth (ZnVOH/CC) as the cathode is developed, and it shows a high energy density, superior lifespan, and good safety. ZnVOH/CC is obtained by the in situ transformation of hydrated vanadium oxide/carbon cloth (VOH/CC) by an electrochemical method, and the intercalation pseudocapacitive reaction mechanism is discovered for ZnVOH/CC. The co-insertion/deinsertion of H+/Zn2+ is observed; the H+ insertion dominates in the initial discharge stage and the high-rate electrochemical process, while Zn2+ insertion dominates the following discharge stage and the low-rate electrochemical procedure. An ultrastable reversible capacity of 135 mAh g–1 at 20 A g–1 is obtained after 5000 cycles without capacity fading. Moreover, the as-assembled flexible zinc-ion battery can operate normally under rolled, folded, and punched conditions with superior safety. It is capable to deliver a high discharge capacity of 184 mAh g–1 at 10 A g–1 after 170 cycles. This work paves a new way for designing low-cost, safe, and quick-charging energy-storage devices for flexible electronics.