Three-electrode flexible zinc-nickel battery with black phosphorus modified polymer electrolyte

Secondary flexible zinc-nickel battery was fabricated with the polyvinyl acetate (PVA) gel-polymer electrolyte which containing the black phosphorus (BP). And for the first time, the three electrode system was introduced in the electrochemical analysis for quasi-solid flexible zinc-nickel battery. The BP modified polymer electrolyte has an interpenetrating network structure where PVA works as polymer matrix and BP as Zn(OH)42− barrier. With the three electrode cell system, tests of Tafel and charge-discharge for the flexible zinc anodes were carried. The results show that the BP in the electrolyte membrane can suppress zinc corrosion and hydrogen evolution reaction. The BP@PVA polymer electrolyte significantly improved the specific discharge capacity and cycle performance of the battery. The flexible zinc-nickel battery with PVA@BP electrolyte shows the high initial discharge capacity of 509.8 mA h g−1 and retains 212.8 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles.