PEDOT:PSS

Nanotechnology

Electrode

Polystyrene sulfonate

Conjugated system

Engineering

Faraday efficiency

Conductivity

Conductive polymer

Physical chemistry

Composite material

Chemistry

Materials science

Polyaniline

Layer (electronics)

Polymerization

Cathode

Chemical engineering

Optoelectronics

Carbon nanotube

Polymer

Electrochemistry

Doping

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Owing to its electronic conductivity and electrochemical reactivity, polyaniline (PANI) can serve as the cathode for rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). However, it suffers from fast deactivation and thus performance deterioration because of spontaneous deprotonation during charge/discharge. Here, we report an effective strategy to improve the electrochemical reactivity and stability of the PANI-based cathode by constructing a π-electron conjugated system between PANI and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The impressive performance of the post-treated CNTs-PANI-PEDOT:PSS (t-CNTs-PA-PE) cathode is largely attributed to the -SO3-H+ groups in PSS, which acts as an internal proton reservoir and provides enough H+ for PANI's protonation, thus promoting its electrochemical activity and reversibility. Besides, the strong interactions between PANI and PEDOT:PSS assist the stretching of π-π conjugation chains, bringing about enhanced electronic conductivity. Consequently, the t-CNTs-PA-PE cathode achieves a high capacity of 238 mA h g-1, together with good rate capability and long-term stability (over 1500 cycles with 100% Coulombic efficiency). Through exerting the freestanding t-CNTs-PA-PE, a flexible ZIB was further constructed with both outstanding electrochemical properties and superior high safety. This work demonstrates the availability of conducting polymer cathodes for high-performance ZIBs, fulfilling the need of flexible electronics.

Conjugated System of PEDOT:PSS-Induced Self-Doped PANI for Flexible Zinc-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Capacity and Cyclability