Study on 3D printing serpentine stretchable CNTs@MnO2 electrode and its zinc storage performance

• 1、School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520
• 2、Shandong Additive Manufacturing Engineering Technology Research Center, Qingdao 266520
• 3、School of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520

Abstract：The development of wearable devices and electronic skin has an urgent need for the stretchability of batteries. Stretchable batteries require battery components, especially electrodes, to have high structural stability and excellent electrochemical properties under the stretched states. In this work, a serpentine-patterned CNTs@MnO2 electrode was fabricated by 3D printing technology, and meanwhile an interconnected binder network was constructed in the printed filaments by means of the phase precipitation process of polyvinylidene fluoride. Combined with the macroscopic electrode structure design and the microscopic bonding network, the serpentine-patterned CNTs@MnO2 electrode could achieve reversible stretchability of 50%. The assembled Zn//CNTS@MnO2 batteries based on this electrodes show excellent cycle stability and rate performance. They deliver a high initial discharge capacity of 186.3 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, and could stably work over 100 cycles at 1 A g-1. At a current density of 2 A g-1, the specific discharge capacity of the battery is 74.4 mAh g-1. Even after the electrode was repeatedly stretched for 20 times, the initial specific discharge capacity of the battery was still 162.4 mAh g-1.

Keywords： zinc-ion batteries 3D printing serpentine electrode electrochemical performance