LI Meng-Xia;LU Yue;WANG Li-Bin;HU Xian-Luo

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology;China-EU Institute for Clean and Renewable Energy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology;School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology;School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Manganese-based oxides are promising cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries. However, these materials often suffer from rapid capacity fade due to structure collapse during charge–discharge processes. Here, we report that the core-shell structured Mn 3O 4@ZnO nanosheet arrays were synthesized on the carbon cloth, combining microwave–hydrothermal process with atomic layer deposition. With an optimized thickness of ZnO coating layer, the capacity retention of the as-formed Mn 3O 4@ZnO nanosheet arrays exhibits 60.3% over 100 discharge–charge cycles at a current density of 100 mA·g ?1. It is demonstrated that the introduction of ZnO layers is beneficial to maintaining the microstructure and improving the structural stability of the Mn 3O 4 electrode material during the charge–discharge process, benefiting from avoiding direct contact with the electrolyte. The design of the well-defined core-shell structure provides an effective way to develop high-performance manganese-based oxide cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries.

core-shell structure;manganese-based oxide;atomic layer deposition;microwave–hydrothermal process;aqueous zinc-ion battery