Anode surface engineering of zinc-ion batteries using tellurium nanobelt as a protective layer for enhancing energy storage performance

Over the years,zinc-ion batteries(ZIBs)have attracted attention as a promising next-generation energy storage technology because of their excellent safety,long cycling performance,eco-friendliness,and high-power density.However,issues,such as the corrosion and dissolution of the Zn anode,limited wet-tability,and lack of sufficient nucleation sites for Zn plating,have limited their practical application.The introduction of a protective layer comprising of tellurium(Te)nanobelts onto the surface of Zn anode has emerged as a promising approach to overcome these limitations and improve the electrochemical behav-ior by enhancing the safety and wettability of ZIBs,as well as providing numerous nucleation sites for Zn plating.In the presence of a Te-based protective layer,the energy power density of the surface-engineered Zn anode improved significantly(ranging from 310 to 144 W h kg^(-1),over a power density range of 270 to 1,800 W kg^(-1)),and the lifespan capability was extended.These results demonstrate that the proposed strategy of employing Te nanobelts as a protective layer holds great promise for enhancing the energy storage performance of zIBs,making them even more attractive as a viable energy storage solution forthefuture.

Ultra-flexible semitransparent organic photovoltaics

Ultra-flexible organic photovoltaics(OPVs)are promising candidates for next-generation power sources owing to their low weight,transparency,and flexibility.However,obtaining ultra-flexibility under extreme repetitive mechanical stress while maintaining optical transparency remains challenging because of the intrinsic brittleness of transparent electrodes.Here,we introduce straindurable ultra-flexible semitransparent OPVs with a thickness below 2μm.The conformal surface coverage of nanoscale thin metal electrodes(<10 nm)is achieved,resulting in extremely low flexural rigidity and high strain durability.In-depth optical and electrical analyses on ultrathin metal electrodes showed that the devices maintain over 73%of their initial efficiency after 1000 cycles of repetitive compression and release at 66%compressive strain,and the average visible light transmittances remain higher than 30%.To our knowledge,this is the first systematical study on mechanical behaviors of strain-durable ultra-flexible ST-OPVs through precise adjustment of each ultrathin electrode thickness toward the emergence of next-generation flexible power sources.