β-MnO_(2) with proton conversion mechanism in rechargeable zinc ion battery

Rechargeable aqueous zinc ion battery(RAZIB)is a promising energy storage system due to its high safety,and high capacity.Among them,manganese oxides with low cost and low toxicity have drawn much attention.However,the under-debate proton reaction mechanism and unsatisfactory electrochemical performance limit their applications.Nanorod b-MnO_(2) synthesized by hydrothermal method is used to investigate the reaction mechanism.As cathode materials for RAZIB,the Zn//b-MnO_(2) delivers 355 mA h g^(-1)(based on cathode mass)at0.1 A g^(-1),and retain 110 mA h g^(-1) after 1000 cycles at 0.2 A g^(-1).Different from conventional zinc ion insertion/extraction mechanism,the proton conversion and Mn ion dissolution/deposition mechanism of b-MnO_(2) is proposed by analyzing the evolution of phase,structure,morphology,and element of b-MnO_(2) electrode,the pH change of electrolyte and the determination of intermediate phase MnO OH.Zinc ion,as a kind of Lewis acid,also provides protons through the formation of ZHS in the proton reaction process.This study of reaction mechanism provides a new perspective for the development of Zn//MnO_(2) battery chemistry.