High-performance aqueous Zn-organic batteries enabled by Zn-K hybrid electrolyte

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have the advantages of high storage capacity, low cost and high abundance, but they are plagued by−products and uncontrollable growth of Zn dendrites on Zn anodes. Herein, we introduce a strategy that incorporates KCF₃SO₃ into a 1 M Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂ (Zn−K) electrolyte solution, resulting a Zn−K hybrid electrolyte. The hybrid electrolyte improves the ion conductivity of the solution, expedites the plating and stripping of Zn²⁺ ions, ameliorates anode-electrolyte interface and inhibits the growth of Zn dendrites. Furthermore, the Zn-K hybrid electrolyte demonstrates excellent compatibility with 5, 7, 12, 14−pentacenetetrone (PT) cathode. Consequently, the Zn//PT cell using the Zn−K hybrid electrolyte can achieve 11,000 cycles, with a capacity retention of about 65.5 % at 10 A g⁻¹. These findings underscore the potential of KCF₃SO₃ to ameliorate the problem of zinc dendrites while facilitating the use of organic cathode materials for prolonged cycling at high currents.