A Self-Healing Integrated All-in-One Zinc-Ion Battery

Abstract

The self-healing of zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) will not only significantly improve the durability and extend the lifetime of devices, but also decrease electronic waste and economic cost. A poly(vinyl alcohol)/zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate (PVA/Zn(CF₃ SO₃ )₂ ) hydrogel electrolyte was fabricated by a facile freeze/thaw strategy. PVA/Zn(CF₃ SO₃ )₂ hydrogels possess excellent ionic conductivity and stable electrochemical performance. Such hydrogel electrolytes can autonomously self-heal by hydrogen bonding without any external stimulus. All-in-one integrated ZIBs can be assembled by incorporating the cathode, separator, and anode into hydrogel matrix since the fabrication of PVA/Zn(CF₃ SO₃ )₂ hydrogel is a process of converting the liquid to quasi-solid state. The ZIBs show an outstanding self-healing and can recover electrochemical performance completely even after several cutting/healing cycles.

Keywords: electrolytes; hydrogels; self-healing; zinc-ion batteries.