All-in-one integrated electrodes based on polyaniline for high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries with substantial areal capacities

With notable advantages of cost-effectiveness and inherent safety, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer significant potential for large-scale energy storage. Nevertheless, the electrodes produced using traditional binders via slurry coating methods face problems of inadequate mass loadings and vulnerability to exfoliation when subjected to deformations. In this study, all-in-one integrated electrodes consisting of polyaniline active material, carbon nanotube conductive network, and carboxymethyl cellulose mechanical framework are fabricated via a scalable and cost-effective approach. Through the synergistic interaction of these constituents, the optimized integrated electrode realizes exceptional flexibility, impressive mechanical strength (20.0 MPa), excellent electrical conductivity (628.5 S m −1 ), and favorable hydrophilicity. At a mass loading of 2 mg cm −2 , the integrated electrode offers considerably improved rate capability and cyclability compared to those electrodes based on binders. Under remarkable mass loadings of 8 and 14 mg cm −2 , the integrated electrodes can deliver large areal capacities of 1.25 and 1.58 mAh cm −2 at 0.2 A g −1 and remarkable capacity retentions of 99.1 and 94.8 % after 3000 cycles, respectively. Furthermore, a high-performance pouch-type battery is assembled using the integrated electrode and demonstrates strong resistance to mechanical deformations. The proposed strategy in this work provides a new opinion for designing high-mass-loading electrodes for AZIBs.