Scalable and sustainable slurry processing unlocks practical aqueous zinc batteries

Scalable and sustainable slurry processing unlocks practical aqueous zinc batteries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Scalable and sustainable slurry processing unlocks practical aqueous zinc batteries Guanjie He, Xuan Gao, Jiayan Zhu, Chang Su, Kejiang Liu, Yuhang Dai, and 13 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8029392/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer a safe, cost-effective, and sustainable solution for large-scale energy storage, yet their deployment is hindered by the difficulty of fabricating thick, high-mass-loading cathodes under sluggish Zn2+ kinetics. Here, we demonstrate a scalable slurry-processing strategy that re-utilizes lithium-ion battery (LIB) manufacturing lines by incorporating acetic acid (HAc) into the cathode slurry, a green additive that eliminates the need for toxic chemicals or dry-room operation while remaining fully compatible with industrial coating lines. Unlike traditional material- or electrolyte-level modifications, this slurry-centered approach uniformly functionalizes particle surfaces during production-scale slurry mixing, promoting proton dehydration and enabling fast, reversible bulk proton storage in commercial γ-MnO2. The process delivers thick cathodes with areal mass loading up to 21.2 mg cm-2 and enables a 26.3 Ah prismatic AZIB that retains nearly 100% capacity after 100 cycles at 1.8C, outperforming state-of-the-art stationary LIBs in power density. At the system level, the HAc-assisted process increases production capacity by 44.2% and reduces system cost from £118.4 to £87.9 kW-1, substantially below the LIB benchmark of £200 kW-1. This work bridges fundamental electrochemistry with industrial manufacturing, establishing a sustainable route toward practical AZIBs. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Batteries Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy storage/Batteries Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8029392","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":581264286,"identity":"7facc0e6-afde-4dbd-b03d-feab6cd67f67","order_by":0,"name":"Guanjie 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