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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Zinc-Sponge Battery Electrodes that Suppress Dendrites
Published on: September 29, 2020
An advanced Ca/Zn hybrid battery enabled by the dendrite-free zinc anode and a reversible
Shunshun Zhao1, Chuanlin Li2, Xixi Zhang2
1School of Physics and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China; International School for Optoelectronic Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China.
Abstract:
The proposal of hybrid ion batteries, which can integrate the advantages of the single ion battery, opens up a new route for developing high-performance secondary batteries. Herein, we successfully constructed an aqueous hybrid battery comprised of polyanionic-type cathode material (Na3V2(PO4)3, NVP), Zn metal anode, and aqueous Ca2+/Zn2+ hybrid electrolyte. This exciting combination gives full play to not only the excellent diffusion dynamics of Ca2+ in the NASICON (sodium super ion conductors) structure but also the electrostatic shielding effect of Ca2+ with low reduction potential that inhibits the formation of zinc dendrites. As results, the NVP//Zn Zn/Ca hybrid battery delivers favorable specific capacity with outstanding rate performance (85.3 mAh g-1 capacity at 1 C, 60.5 mAh g-1 capacity at 20 C), and excellent cycle stability (74 % capacity retention after 1300 cycles).
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