Lean-Water Hydrogel with Multipolar Sites for Flexible and High-Performance Aqueous Aluminum Ion Batteries

Ziyue Wen, Feng Wu, Man Fai Ng, Beier Jia, Jinxuan Song, Tianyang Yu, Jinfeng Dong, Anchun Tang, Renjie Chen*, Qingyu Yan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Rechargeable aqueous aluminum ion batteries (AAIBs) offer a promising avenue for achieving safe, high-energy, and low-cost large-scale energy storage applications. However, the practical development of AAIBs is hindered by competitive reduction reactions in the aqueous solution, which lead to insufficient aluminum (Al) deposition and a severe hydrogen evolution reaction (HRE). In this work, an inorganic/organic hybrid hydrogel with a stable silicon-based network and multiple polar sites is successfully fabricated via an in situ sol-gel polymerization method. The preferential formation of hydrogen bonds between the polar functional groups and water molecules effectively reduces the thermodynamic reactivity of water. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) analyses confirm the formation of a stable, inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, which kinetically suppresses undesirable side reactions. This hydrogel electrolyte exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 2.9 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 25 °C, even under lean-water conditions. As a result, Al|hydrogel|potassium nickel hexacyanoferrate (KNHCF) full cells demonstrate excellent cycling performance, delivering a high initial discharge capacity of 74.9 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and achieving an outstanding capacity retention of 90.0% after 200 cycles. Additionally, pouch cells exhibit stable open-circuit voltage under various mechanical abuse conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2500695
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume37
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 16 2025
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Keywords

  • aqueous aluminum ion batteries
  • hydrogel electrolyte
  • hydrogen evolution rection
  • lean-water
  • polar functional groups

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