Laser-induced Graphene Derived 3D Porous Structure for Stable Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries

Aqueous Zn-based batteries have the advantages of low cost, large capacity, high power, environmental safety, and high energy density. Therefore, aqueous zinc-ion batteries have a wide application prospect in energy-storage devices. However, the growth of Zn dendrites become the most troublesome problem affecting the lifetime of Zn batteries, which inhibits the further development of Zn-based batteries. A simple method is reported to regulate the nucleation of zinc by laser-induced graphene, so that the formation of zinc dendrites can be inhibited. In this work, a 3D composite structure containing laser-induced graphene (LIG) and polyimide (PI) was constructed on the zinc surface by processing PI films with laser. The 3D structure formed by laser treatment has a large specific surface area and abundant micropores, which can cause uniform distribution of zinc ions. More importantly, the large number of defects in LIG significantly reduced the nucleation overpotential of Zn, and mitigates Zn dendritic growth.