A flexible, heat-resistant and self-healable “rocking-chair” zinc ion microbattery based on MXene-TiS2 (de)intercalation anode

The requirement for rechargeable microbatteries (MBs) continues to increase due to the rapidly development of wearable and integrated electronics. However, the ever-reported mainstream MBs, such as lithium ion MBs, have intrinsic drawbacks of security threats and environmental hazards, and are not suitable as an energy supply component for wearable electronics. Here, a safe and environmentally friendly zinc ion microbattery (ZIMB) based on MXene-TiS2 (de)intercalation anode, multi-walled carbon nanotubes-vanadium dioxide (B) (MWCNTs-VO2 (B)) cathode, zinc sulfate-polyacrylamide (ZnSO4-PAM) hydrogel electrolyte and self-healable polyurethane (PU) protective shell is exploited. The ZIMB exhibit satisfactory electrochemical performance with a capacity of 40.8 μAh cm-2, maximum power density of 32.5 μWh cm-2 and maximum energy density of 1.2 mW cm-2. In addition, the ZIMB also exhibits the excellent flexibility, thermostability and self-healability, i.e., no significant attenuation in capacity can be observed when the ZIMB is placed on the specific conditions, such as the high bending angle of 150°, high temperature of 100 °C, and multiple damage and repair cycles. This study provides a feasible strategy to develop advanced high reliable and stable micro energy storage devices for wearable and integrated electronics.