Rechargeable aqueous batteries such as alkaline zinc/manganese oxide batteries are highly desirable for large-scale energy storage owing to their low cost and high safety; however, cycling stability is a major issue for their applications. Here we demonstrate a highly reversible zinc/manganese oxide system in which optimal mild aqueous ZnSO₄^-based solution is used as the electrolyte, and nanofibres of a manganese oxide phase, α-MnO₂, are used as the cathode. We show that a chemical conversion reaction mechanism between α-MnO₂ and H⁺ is mainly responsible for the good performance of the system. This includes an operating voltage of 1.44 V, a capacity of 285 mAh g^-1 (MnO₂), and capacity retention of 92% over 5,000 cycles. The Zn metal anode also shows high stability. This finding opens new opportunities for the development of low-cost, high-performance rechargeable aqueous batteries.

Nature Energy Article number: 16039 (2016)
doi:10.1038/nenergy.2016.39

http://www.nature.com/articles/nenergy201639

中文报道（水溶性Zn/MnO₂电池）链接：
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA3NjIwODA1Nw==&mid=2650221414&idx=1&sn=7892d52ee2026c7b9b3c057323f0e6aa&scene=1&srcid=0420CBENeLizBFf9nDk8iWy7#wechat_redirect