Plasma Enabled Synthesis of Dual Phase Alkali Metals (Li, Na, K) & Water Co-Intercalated V₂O₅ 3D TMO Clusters for...

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted considerable attention as a safe and cost-effective to energy storage system. Cathode materials, which are critical to determining overall AZIB performance, remain a major hurdle to deployment. Currently, substantial energy is required for synthesis, while improvements in capacity and energy density remain necessary to compete with incumbent lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report a high-performance and durable alkali metal (M = K, Na, Li) and water co-intercalated vanadium oxide (M-WiVO) cathode synthesized via a rapid (70 min) and energy-efficient plasma-assisted hydrothermal (PAHT) process. The M-WiVO structure consists of water-intercalated vanadium oxide (V₂O₅·nH₂O) and monoclinic M_xV₂O₅ phases, which provide expanded channels for rapid Zn²⁺ ion transport. Among the M-WiVO materials, K-WiVO delivers the highest capacity of 526.7 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 (≈90% of the theoretical capacity of V₂O₅) and retains 94.5% of its initial capacity after 4000 cycles at 10 A g^-1. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm the stability of the dual-intercalated framework and the superior performance of K-WiVO. Overall, the monoclinic M_xV₂O₅ phase provides long-term electrochemical stabilities; meanwhile, water intercalation in V₂O₅ provides high capacity and facilitates the Zn²⁺ ion transport, where the dual phase works synergistically to preserve the excellent AZIB performances in M-WiVO.