TiO2/CNF interlayer functional separator for aqueous zinc ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) are garnering attention as a promising energy storage technology, boasting high energy density, low cost and high safety. Nevertheless, Zn dendrite growth and side reaction seriously affect the AZIBs cycle stability. In this paper, the interlayer separator design strategy is innovatively proposed, and a titanium dioxide fiber membrane (TiO 2 /CNF) with three-dimensional network structure is fabricated using the electrostatic spinning technique, which is used as an interlayer with filter paper to form a new type separator. The TiO 2 /CNF interlayer can suppress the side reaction and promote the uniform Zn deposition. As a result, the Zn||Zn symmetric cell with a current density of 2 mA cm −2 can maintain stable cycling for 650 h. Excitingly, the Zn||CVO full cell equipped with the TiO 2 /CNF interlayer separator achieves remarkably improved, and shows long-term stability of 200 cycles with 1.0 A g −1 current density.