1. Construction of SESD based on fiber electrodes: Use carbon fiber as the current collector and glass fiber matrix as the separator to form quasi-solid-state Zn-based batteries and/or hybrid supercapacitors that are free of flammable organic electrolytes as the energy storage components.
2. Development of quasi-solid-state electrolyte to widen the device voltage window and enable low-temperature operation: Use deep eutectic solvents to destroy the solvation sheath of Zn2+ and water to form water-deficient solvation structures for the suppression of side reaction and dendrite formation at the Zn anode.
3. Detailed characterization of mechanical and electrochemical performance: Apart from routine electrochemical and mechanical characterizations to characterize the fabricated electrode materials and devices, an in-situ mechano-electrochemical characterization method developed by us will be adopted to evaluate the energy storage performance of the fabricated SESDs under mechanical loading.
4. Mechanistic study of failure behavior and Zn dendrite suppression: The interface always plays a vital role in the overall performance of our SESDs. Interfacial failure can be triggered by either mechanical or electrochemical loading. To address this issue, we will use COMSOL to simulate the failure behavior between the electrode and electrolyte and explore the underlying failure mechanism in combination with the experimental results.
