Vanadium-oxide compounds are considered promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs); however, their susceptibility to severe structural degradation and their inherently low ionic conductivity remain significant challenges. Current electrode designs struggle to achieve both high flexibility and excellent Zn2+ storage performance simultaneously. In this study, we developed a niobium-doped VO0.9 embedded within carbon nanofibers (Nb-VO0.9@CNF) via a controllable electrospinning and heat-treatment process. The cross-linked three-dimensional conductive network enhances structural stability and accelerates ion migration kinetics. The self-supporting Nb-VO0.9@CNF cathodes exhibit a high reversible capacity of 445.6 mA h g–1 at a current density of 0.1 A g–1, excellent rate capability (retaining 144 mA h g–1 at 10 A g–1), and stable cycling performance with a capacity of 259.3 mA h g–1 after 2600 cycles at 1 A g–1, corresponding to a relatively high-capacity retention rate. The structural advantages are further elucidated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, offering valuable insights into the material design. The results suggest that simultaneously constructing the conduction network and Nb doping arrangement should be promising for boosting the ion-transport kinetics in vanadium oxide-based flexible cathodes.
Huang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.