Enhancing zinc storage performance of Mn3O4 cathode through Ag-doping and -crosslinking dual-modification strategy
(1. Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Equipment for Biological Diagnosis and Therapy in Universities of Shandong, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China;
2. Shandong Sacred Sun Power Sources Co., Ltd., Qufu 273100, China;
3. State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)
2. Shandong Sacred Sun Power Sources Co., Ltd., Qufu 273100, China;
3. State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)
Abstract: Octahedral Mn3O4 nanoparticles with an Ag-doping and nanoporous Ag (NPS) framework was simply fabricated through an alloying-etching engineering. The dual-modified Mn3O4 (denoted as Ag-Mn3O4/NPS) consists of Ag-doped Mn3O4 nanoparticles crosslinked with three dimensional nanoporous Ag framework. The incorporated Ag dopant is effective in improving the intrinsic ionic and electronic conductivities of Mn3O4, while the NPS framework is introduced to improve the electron/mass transfer across the entire electrode. Profiting from the dual-modification strategy, the Ag-Mn3O4/NPS exhibits admirable rate capability and cycling stability. A high reversible capacity of 88.7 mA·h/g can still be retained for over 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g. Moreover, a series of ex-situ experimental techniques indicate that for Ag-Mn3O4/NPS electrode during the zinc ion storage, Mn3O4 is electrochemically oxidized into various MnOx (e.g., Mn2O3, MnO2) species in the initial charging, and the subsequent battery reaction is actually the intercalation/deintercalation of H+ and Zn2+ into MnOx.
Key words: Ag-doped Mn3O4; zinc ion battery; nanoporous Ag; dealloying