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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Promoting uniform distribution of zinc ions and stabilizing zinc anode by highly entangled zwitterionic hydrogels
Guang Liu1, Shiyu Zhang2, Yuanyou Peng1
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Non-ferrous Metals, Department of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China.
Abstract:
The application of aqueous zinc metal batteries is impeded by dendrite growth and rampant side reaction. Herein, a highly entangled zwitterionic hydrogel of l-carnitine/polyacrylamide is proposed for constructing the highly entangled polyacrylamide network that could form a high-speed channel for ion transport during charging and discharging processes. The interconnected polymer structure promotes uniform distribution of Zn2+, thereby effectively inhibiting dendrite formation. Furthermore, anchoring of zwitterions in zinc anodes facilitate the deposition of Zn2+. Simultaneously, coordination of carboxyl groups in zwitterion with the Zn2+ desolvates it, which helps to suppress side reactions. On the basis of uniform ions distribution and coordination of mechanism, Zn||Zn symmetric batteries exhibit 500 h of reliable plating/stripping at 8 mA cm-2. Additionally, Zn||MnO2 batteries can perform 1, 600 cycles at 0.5 A g-1. And Zn||MnO2 pouch batteries demonstrate superior energy storage under various states.
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