Preparation of V_₂O_₅ Composite Cathode Material Based on In-Situ Intercalated Polyaniline and Its High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery Applications

With the rapid development of renewable energy, efficient and stable energy storage technologies have become a research focus in the energy sector. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) hold great promise for electrochemical energy storage due to their high safety, abundant zinc resources, high theoretical specific capacity, and low redox potential. However, AZIBs still face challenges such as low electronic conductivity, sluggish ion migration kinetics, zinc dendrite growth, and side reactions, which severely limit their practical applications. To address the issues of the large zinc-ion radius and the restricted interlayer spacing of vanadium oxides, this study proposes an innovative in-situ intercalation polyaniline (PANI) molecular modification strategy. A flower-like organic-inorganic hybrid material, PANI-V2O5 , is successfully synthesized via a synchronous oxidative polymerization method. This strategy effectively regulates the interlayer spacing of vanadium oxides without introducing inert cations, significantly enhancing the material's conductivity and structural stability while accelerating zinc-ion diffusion kinetics. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that PANI-V2O5 exhibits a high specific capacity of up to 450 mAh·g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.1 A·g⁻¹ and retains 96.7% of its capacity after 300 cycles at 1 A·g⁻¹, showcasing excellent cycling stability and rate performance. This study provides new insights into the design of high-performance cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries and lays a theoretical and experimental foundation for the development of efficient and stable energy storage systems in the future.