Enhancing Hydrophilicity of Thick Electrodes for High Energy Density Aqueous Batteries

Abstract

Highlights Sulfonated polyvinylidene fluoride (S-PVdF) binders with improved hydrophilicity were synthesized via a simple sulfonation process of conventional hydrophobic PVdF binders. The abundant sulfonate groups of S-PVdF binders significantly improved ionic conduction in thick electrodes (~ 6 mg cm−2), enabling improved reversible capacities under various current densities. The S-PVdF binders effectively suppressed cathode dissolution, resulting in enhanced capacity retention at higher temperature operations (45 °C).

Keywords

• Thick electrodes
• Hydrophilic binder
• Sulfonation
• Aqueous zinc-ion batteries
• High areal capacity