“Dual‐ Engineering” Strategy to Regulate NH4V4O10 as Cathodes for High‐Performance Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries

Abstract Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted attention as a promising candidate for secondary battery energy storage due to their safety and environmental benefits. However, the vanadium‐based cathode material NH 4 V 4 O 10 has the problem of structural instability. In this paper, it is found by density functional theory calculation that excessive NH 4 + located in the interlayer will repel the Zn 2+ during the process of Zn 2+ insertion. This results in the distortion of the layered structure, further affects the diffusion of Zn 2+ and reduces the reaction kinetics. Therefore, part of the NH 4 + is removed by heat treatment. In addition, the introduction of Al 3+ into the material by hydrothermal method is able to further enhance its zinc storage properties. This dual‐engineering strategy shows excellent electrochemical performance (578.2 mAh g −1 at 0.2 A g −1 ). This study provides valuable insights for the development of high performance AZIBs cathode materials.