Zinc-copper dual-ion electrolytes to suppress dendritic growth and increase anode utilization in zinc ion capacitors

The main bottlenecks that hinder the performance of rechargeable zinc electrochemical cells are their limited cycle lifetime and energy density. To overcome these limitations, this work studied the mechanism of a dual-ion Zn-Cu electrolyte to suppress dendritic formation and extend the device cycle life while concurrently enhancing the utilization ratio of zinc and thereby increasing the energy density of zinc ion capacitors (ZICs). The ZICs achieved a best-in-class energy density of 41 watt hour per kilogram with a negative-to-positive (n/p) electrode capacity ratio of 3.10. At the n/p ratio of 5.93, the device showed a remarkable cycle life of 22,000 full charge-discharge cycles, which was equivalent to 557 hours of discharge. The cumulative capacity reached ~581 ampere hour per gram, surpassing the benchmarks of lithium and sodium ion capacitors and highlighting the promise of the dual-ion electrolyte for delivering high-performance, low-maintenance electrochemical energy supplies.