Zn-ion ultrafluidity via bioinspired ion channel for ultralong lifespan Zn-ion battery
Rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries have been deemed as a promising energy storage device. The dendrite growth and side reactions have hindered the practical application. Herein, inspired by the ultrafluidic and K+ ion-sieving flux through enzyme-gated potassium channels (KcsA) in biological plasma membranes, a metal-organic-framework (MOF-5) grafted with -ClO4 groups as functional enzymes is fabricated to mimic the ultrafluidic lipid-bilayer structure for gating Zn2+ “on” and anions “off” states. Resulting from the perfect Zn2+/SO42- selectivity (~10), enhanced Zn2+ transfer number ( ) and the ultrafluidic Zn2+ flux (1.9 ×10-3 mmol m-2 s-1 vs. 1.67 ×10-3 mol m-2 s-1 for KcsA). The symmetric cells achieve a lifespan of over 5,400 h at 10 mA cm-2/20 mAh cm-2. Specifically, the performance of the PMCl-Zn//V2O5 pouch cell keeps 81% capacity after 2,000 cycles at 1 A g-1. The regulated ion transport by learning from biological plasma membrane opens a new venue towards ultralong lifespan aqueous batteries.