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Geoscience-Inspired Pore Topology Engineering for Ultra-Thick Cathodes Toward High-Energy-Density Zinc-Ion Batteries
Bei Qi1,2, Tiancheng He1, Yifei Zhao1
1Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|August 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new strategy for high-performance zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) by optimizing cathode pore structure using a geoscience-inspired approach. This method enhances ion and electron transport for safer, large-scale energy storage.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Geoscience
Background:
- Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) offer a safe and scalable solution for energy storage.
- Developing high-performance ultrathick and high-loading cathodes for ZIBs is challenging due to poor ion and electron transport.
- Understanding pore topology is crucial for optimizing material performance in various scientific fields.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an efficient pore network regulation strategy for high-performance ultrathick ZIB cathodes.
- To leverage structure-activity relationships from geoscience for battery material design.
- To enhance both ionic and electronic conductivity in ZIB cathodes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an ammonium acetate porogen to engineer cathode pore topology.
- Integrated the optimized pore architecture with a graphene/carbon nanotubes framework.
- Employed micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and pore network modeling for topological analysis.
- Validated mass/ion transport using Avizo permeability simulations.
Main Results:
- Achieved a highly optimized pore topology with increased connectivity (64.9%), coordination number (77.8%), and throat diameter (25%) using the ammonium acetate porogen.
- The ultrathick cathode demonstrated high loading (56.8 mg cm⁻²) with excellent electrochemical performance: 17.96 mAh cm⁻² capacity and 97.2% retention over 106 cycles.
- Demonstrated competitive energy densities of 152.8 Wh kg⁻¹ in coin cells and 69.2 Wh kg⁻¹ in a practical pouch cell with good cycling stability.
Conclusions:
- The topology-guided pore network regulation strategy significantly enhances ion and electron transport in ultrathick ZIB cathodes.
- This geoscience-inspired approach provides a scalable method for developing high-performance ZIBs for large-scale energy storage.
- The study bridges geoscience principles with battery engineering, paving the way for advanced energy storage materials.
