The Anion-Cation Relay Battery Prototype

Relay insertion/extraction chemistry of both anions and cations on the cathode is disclosed for non-aqueous rechargeable batteries, different from previous metal-ion batteries (MIBs) and dual-ion batteries (DIBs) of only positively or negatively charged ions. The "anion-cation relay battery (ACRB)" fully uses both negative and positive ions and offers bright prospects for high-specific-energy and large-rate grid scale energy storage. Proof-of-concept ACRBs with commercial Li/Na/K plate as anodes and free-standing few-layered graphitic carbon (FLGC) membrane as cathodes demonstrate impressive overall cell performance (a reversible capacity of ≈300 mAh g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1, service life >23 000 cycles with a retention decay of ≈0.0013% per cycle, and a cathode energy density of ≈370 Wh kg^-1 at ≈27 kW kg^-1), comparable to the highest level counterparts. The work may set a promising strategy to break the predicament facing by various MIBs and DIBs, and also a direction to forward cost cutting in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).