Crystal plane induced in-situ electrochemical activation of manganese-based cathode enable long-term aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Rapid capacity decay and sluggish reaction kinetics are major barriers hindering the applications of manganese-based cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.Herein,the effects of crystal plane on the in-situ transformation behavior and electrochemical performance of manganese-based cathode is discussed.A comprehensive discussion manifests that the exposed(100)crystal plane is beneficial to the phase transformation from tunnel-structured MnO_(2) to layer-structured ZnMn_(3)O_(7)·3H_(2)O,which plays a critical role for the high reactivity,high capacity,fast diffusion kinetics and long cycling stability.Additionally,a two-stage zinc storage mechanism can be demonstrated,involving continuous activation reaction and phase transition reaction.As expected,it exhibits a high capacity of 275 mAh g^(-1)at 100 mA g^(-1),a superior durability over 1000 cycles and good rate capability.This study may open new windows toward developing advanced cathodes for ZIBs,and facilitate the applications of ZIBs in large-scale energy storage system.