Long-Life Aqueous Zn–I₂ Battery Enabled by a Low-Cost Multifunctional Zeolite Membrane Separator

Abstract

Aqueous zinc iodide (Zn–I2) batteries are promising large-scale energy-storage devices. However, the uncontrollable diffuse away/shuttle of soluble I3– leads to energy loss (low Coulombic efficiency, CE), and poor reversibility (self-discharge). Herein, we employ an ordered framework window within a zeolite molecular sieve to restrain I3– crossover and prepare zeolite molecular sieve particles into compact, large-scale, and flexible membranes at the engineering level. The as-prepared membrane can confine I3– within the catholyte region and restrain its irreversible escape, which is proved via space-resolution and electrochemical in situ time-resolution Raman technologies. As a result, overcharge/self-discharge and Zn corrosion are effectively controlled by zeolite separator. After replacing the typically used glass fiber separator to a zeolite membrane, the CE of Zn–I2 battery improves from 78.9 to 98.6% at 0.2 A/g. Besides, after aging at the fully charged state for 5.0 h, self-discharge is restrained and CE is enhanced from 44.0 to 85.65%. Moreover, the Zn–I2 cell maintains 91.0% capacity over 30,000 cycles at 4.0 A/g.