3Dプリントにより従来比7倍のエネルギー密度を持つ亜鉛イオン電池を開発 (With 3D printing, UCLA team develops zinc-ion battery with 7 times more energy)

2026-06-29 カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校（UCLA）

Maher El-Kady/UCLA

＜関連情報＞

• https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/3d-printing-to-develop-zinc-iron-battery-massive-energy-ucla
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.202514911

亜鉛イオンスーパーキャパシタ用3Dプリント炭素格子上に高質量負荷酸化バナジウムを担持 High Mass-Loading Vanadium Oxide on 3D Printed Carbon Lattices for Zinc-Ion Supercapacitors

Sophia Uemura, Celeste Elkort, Kaitlyn Than, Sydney Rapier, Yuto Katsuyama, Joanne Hui, Zhiyin Yang, Hung-Yi Huang, Chi-Chang Hu, Maher F. El-Kady, Richard B. Kaner
Small  Published: 17 March 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514911

ABSTRACT

The rising demand for sustainable and scalable energy storage systems has accelerated the development of aqueous zinc-based technologies. However, conventional slurry-cast planar electrodes underperform at high mass loading, causing low areal capacitance and sluggish rate performance. Herein, we introduce a 3D printed freestanding, binder-free conductive carbon lattice electrode integrated with vanadium oxide (VO_x). The 3D framework facilitates homogeneous dispersion of VO_x, increasing the electroactive surface area, enhancing the ion transport ability, and maintaining structural integrity under high current density. Enabled by this architecture and a high mass loading of 38 mg cm⁻², the electrode achieves areal capacitance of 7129 mF cm⁻² at 3 mA cm⁻², areal power and energy densities of 44 mW cm⁻² and 1 mWh cm⁻², along with robust cycling performance, with a capacity retention of 82% after 1500 cycles. To ensure rigorous and reproducible evaluation, we introduce a sealed, 3D-printed test cell that fixes the inter-electrode spacing and suppresses electrolyte evaporation. Compared with open beaker setups commonly used for three-electrode measurements, the printed cell yields more consistent capacitance and resistance. It also maintains 98% capacity retention after 1400 cycles. This synergy of 3D engineered electrodes and cells provides a reproducible pathway to practical, high-energy, and power-density zinc-ion supercapacitors.