Unlocking the Door of Boosting Biodirected Structures for High-Performance VNxOy/C by Controlling the Reproduction Mode

Abstract

Diverse reproduction modes of bio-organisms open new intriguing opportunities for biochemistry-enabled materials. Herein, a new strategy is developed to explore biodirected structures for functional materials via controlling the reproduction mode. Yeast with sexual or asexual reproduction mode are employed in this work. They result in two different biodirected structures, from bowl-like hollow hemisphere to “bubble-in-sphere” (BIS) structure, for the VNxOy/C composites. Benefitting from the hierarchical structure, nanoscale particles and conductive biomass–derived carbon base, both VNxOy/C biocomposites achieve high power/energy density, good reliability, and excellent long-term cycling stability in aqueous Zn-ion batteries. Deep investigations further reveal that different biodirected structures greatly influence the electrochemical properties of biocomposites. The bowl-like structures with thin shells and folded double layers achieve larger surface area and more active sites, which ensure their faster kinetics and better high rate capability. The BIS structures with a more compact assembly and higher stack capability are favorable to the better energy storage. Therefore, this work not only introduces a new clue to boost biodirected structures for functional materials, but also propels the development of Zn-ion batteries in diverse applications.