An in situ polymerization trial to prepare PEDOT decorated VO2 hollow nanospheres for stable zinc ion storage at 0 °C

Abstract

Vanadium oxides possess a variety of crystal structures and have emerged as imperative cathode materials for zinc ion batteries in recent years. However, their further applications are largely restricted by their poor rate capability and cycling instability. In this work, we propose an in situ polymerization strategy to prepare novel VO₂ hollow nanospheres by PEDOT coating. The assembled Zn//VO₂@0.8PEDOT cells show a specific capacity of 455.8 mA h g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.2 A g⁻¹. They can still maintain a retention rate of 85.5% after 3000 cycles at 5.0 A g⁻¹. Additionally, the soft-packaged devices demonstrate remarkable mechanical stability under diverse folding conditions.