Multifold Electrochemical Protons and Zinc Ion Storage Behavior in Copper Vanadate Cathodes

Zinc-based batteries are gaining attention as a promising candidate for large-scale energy storage systems due to their safety, abundance of elemental zinc, low cost, and ease of handling in air. However, only a few zinc storage materials, namely, intercalation cathode materials, were reported, and there is a need to develop host structures with improved performance. Here, we investigate copper vanadate as a cathode material and uncover its proton and zinc storage behavior by combined electrochemical characterization, XRD analysis, and ion migration barrier calculations for the cation diffusion pathways. The material showed a highly reversible capacity of ∼315 mA h/g at 20 mA/g with a good capacity retention.