High-Sulfur Loading and Single Ion-Selective Membranes for High-Energy and Durable Decoupled Aqueous Batteries.

Decoupled battery design is promising for breaking the energy density limit of traditional aqueous batteries. However, the complex battery configuration and low-selective separator membranes restrict their energy output and service time. Herein, a zinc-sulfur decoupled aqueous battery is achieved by designing high-mass loading sulfur electrode and single ion-selective membrane. A vertically assembled nanosheet network constructed with the assistance of magnetic field enables facile electron and ion conduction in thick sulfur electrodes, which is conducive to boosting the cell-level energy output. For the tailored ion-selective membrane, the Na ions anchored on its skeleton effectively prevent the crossover of OH - or Cu 2+ , facilitating the transport of Na + and ensuring structural and mechanical stability. Consequently, the Zn-S aqueous battery achieves a reversible energy density of 3988 Wh kg s -1 (by sulfur mass), stable operation over 300 cycles and an energy density of 53.2 mWh cm -2 . The sulfur-based decoupled system may be of immediate benefit toward safe, reliable, and affordable static energy storage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.