Citation: Qu ZHANG, Tao WANG, Yinying WANG, Bo LI, Dongling WU. Synthesis of amino acid-functionalized nitrogen-doped carbon dots/cuprous oxidecomposite material and its performance in aqueous zinc-ion batteries[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, ;2026, 42(3): 488-498. doi: 10.11862/CJIC.20250272 shu

Synthesis of amino acid-functionalized nitrogen-doped carbon dots/cuprous oxidecomposite material and its performance in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Qu ZHANG ¹ ,
Tao WANG ² ,
Yinying WANG ¹ ,
Bo LI ¹ ,
Dongling WU ^1,,

1.
State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
2.
Xinjiang Engineering Research Center of Environmental and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China

Corresponding author: Dongling WU, wudl@xju.edu.cn
Received Date: 28 August 2025
Revised Date: 7 December 2025

Figures(6)

In this work, a 3D hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots/cuprous oxide (N-CDs/Cu₂O) nanocomposite was successfully fabricated through an amino acid-mediated self-assembly approach. The Cu₂O, formed under the guidance of amino acids with distinct acidities, exhibited varying sizes and crystallinities. The 3D hierarchical structure, formed upon integration with N-CDs, endowed the material with an abundant porous network, thus effectively promoting electrolyte infiltration. Moreover, N-CDs accelerated ion/electron transport through defect engineering and interface optimization. Additionally, the robust heterointerfaces established by N-CDs constrained volume expansion during the charge-discharge process. Notably, the glycine-assisted synthesized N-CDs/Cu₂O composite electrode demonstrated an impressive initial discharge capacity of 373 mAh·g^-1 at a current density of 0.1 A·g^-1, and retained 78% of its capacity after 100 cycles.
- amino acids,
- Cu₂O,
- N-doped carbon quantum dots,
- cathode materials,
- aqueous zinc-ion batteries
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