Boosting ion kinetics in ZnV₂O₄ cathode via synergistic Mo doping and morphology regulation for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), despite their potential in storing large-scale sustainable energy, suffer from sluggish kinetics, poor conductivity, and vanadium dissolution, which impede the development of vanadium oxide cathodes. This study presents a Mo⁶⁺-doped ZnV₂O₄ (ZVO-X%Mo) cathode featuring a cross-interlocked nanosheet architecture. This design enhances Zn²⁺…V–O bonding through the cross-interlocked nanosheet structure and Mo⁶⁺ doping, suppresses vanadium dissolution, establishes efficient Zn²⁺ transport pathways, and simultaneously introduces abundant oxygen vacancies. The improved ionic/electronic conductivity and reduced Zn²⁺ diffusion barriers are validated through density functional theory calculations. The Zn‖Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂‖ZVO-3 %Mo cell delivers 636 mAh.g⁻¹ at 0.1 A.g⁻¹ and retains 80.5 % capacity after 2000 cycles at 5 A.g⁻¹, demonstrating exceptional electrochemical stability. By integrating metal cation doping with architectural engineering, this work proposes a synergistic strategy for high-performance AZIB cathodes, affirming their commercial viability for grid-scale energy storage.