Al³⁺ intercalated NH₄V₄O₁₀ nanosheet on carbon cloth for high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Ammonium vanadium bronze (NH₄V₄O₁₀) with open crystal structures and superior theoretical capacity is promising cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). However, the sluggish intrinsic ion/electron kinetics and unsatisfied structural stability remain bottlenecks that limit their further development. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of Al⁺-intercalated NH₄V₄O₁₀ nanosheet grown on carbon cloth (Al-NVO@CC) via a one-step hydrothermal reaction. The expanded lattice spacing of the synthesized Al-NVO@CC not only facilitates the Zn²⁺ ion intercalation/deintercalation but also improves the electrochemical stability in AZIBs. As a result, the cathode shows high reversible capacity (475.8 mA h g^-1 at 0.2 A g^-1), superior long-term cyclability (152.8 mA h g^-1 over 2500 cycles at 5.0 A g^-1), as well as excellent rate performance. Moreover, the zinc storage process of Al-NVO@CC and underlying mechanism of the enhanced performance are revealed by ex-situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses. This study provides a reasonable strategy to promote V-based nanomaterials on CC for the development of AZIBs.