Abstract:
A gel polymer electrolyte was formed by trapping an optimized Na+/Zn2+ mixed-ion
aqueous electrolyte in a polyacrylonitrile nanofiber polymer matrix. This electrolyte was used in a
novel aqueous sodium-ion battery (ASIB) system, which was assembled by using a zinc anode and
Na4Mn9O18 cathode. The nanorod-like Na4Mn9O18 was synthesized by a hydrothermal soft chemical
reaction. The structural and morphological measurement confirmed that the highly crystalline
Na4Mn9O18 nanorods are uniformly distributed. Electrochemical tests of Na4Mn9O18//Zn gel
polymer battery demonstrated its high cycle stability along with a good rate of performance.
The battery delivers an initial discharge capacity of 96 mAh g−1
, and 64 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a
high cycling rate of 1 C. Our results demonstrate that the Na4Mn9O18//Zn gel polymer battery is a
promising and safe high-performance battery.