Recently, a research paper titled “Enabling High-Performance Zn Anodes through Nitrogen-Participated p–π Conjugation in Hydrogel Electrolytes” by the team of Professor Feng Wang and Jin Niu from the College of Materials Science and Engineering was published in Advanced Energy Materials.
Aqueous Zn metal batteries (AZMBs) are severely restricted by the sluggish ionic conductivity and inadequate mechanical properties in hydrogel electrolytes, as well as the uncontrollable dendrite growth and undesirable reactions at the electrolyte-electrode interface. Herein, inspired by antidiabetics, metformin hydrochloride (MFHCl) containing nitrogen-participated p-π conjugation was firstly employed to enhance polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel electrolytes. Detailed experimental analysis and theoretical calculation results revealed the different roles of MFHCl played from electrolytes to electrodes, which enabled superior half cells and full cells performance even under extreme test conditions.
The first author of this work is Weihao Song, the PhD student at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Professor Feng Wang, Jin Niu, and Chendong Ji from Beijing University of Chemical Technology are the corresponding author. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and other projects.
