Furthermore, Sun
et al. synthesized layered MnO
2 polycrystals (Birnessite phase) as a nanostructured phase supported by conductive carbon cloth and compared its electrochemical and structural changes when cycled as cathode material in MIBs under nonaqueous or aqueous conditions.
Figs. 4d and
e illustrate the transformation of Mn
3O
4 electrode into Mg-B electrode and the insertion of Mg
2+ hydration and mixing of Mg/Mn during battery discharge. Nam
et al. investigated an unconventional method of incorporating crystalline water into the layered structure of MnO
2, as crystalline water can effectively shield the electrostatic interaction within Mg
2+ and the host anion. In aqueous solution, the reduced interfacial energy loss due to Mg
2+ hydration resulted in large reversible capacity (231.1 mAh/g) and excellent cycling performance (62.5% retention after 10,000 cycles) of Birnessite MnO
2 at high operating voltages, revealing the importance of effective charge shielding in the host and rapid Mg
2+ transfer across the cathodic interface [
39]. Meanwhile, in the aqueous electrolyte of MIBs, co-insertion of H
+ and Mg
2+ may occur, which contributes significantly to the capacity of the aqueous battery. MnO
2 can exist in Hollandite (
α-MnO
2), water-MnO
2 layered
δ- and
λ-spinel phases (revision: MnO
2 can exist in Hollandite (
α-MnO
2), layered Birnessite structure (
δ-MnO
2), Spinel phases (
λ-MnO
2) and tunnel structure under the Ramsdellite family (R-MnO
2)) as shown in
Fig. 4f [
103]. The
δ-MnO
2 layered oxide is reported to be a hydrated layered oxide used to insert polycrystalline cations. The layered structure of Birnessite
δ-MnO
2 provides a two-dimensional channel for ion de-embedding. The electrochemical properties of Birnessite
δ-MnO
2 cathodes were investigated using magnesium metal as the anode and acetonitrile solution of magnesium perchlorate as the electrolyte, which was also combined with acetylene black. The capacity of the
α-MnO
2 composite was almost zero after 20 cycles, while the Birnessite
δ-MnO
2 composite had a 50% retention of the initial capacity after 25 cycles [
104]. Recently, Wang
et al. expanded the layer spacing of Birnessite MnO
2 from 0.70 nm to 0.97 nm by introducing K
+ and H
+ plasma which nearly doubled its capacity from 58.6 mAh/g to 110.8 mAh/g. This expansion also enhanced the diffusion channel of Mg
2+, resulting in an improvement in electrochemical performance [
105], which sheds light on a novel idea for improving Mg
2+ reactivity. Moreover, we investigated the charging and discharging mechanism of
δ-MnO
2 as cathode material for aqueous magnesium-ion batteries. Our results show that there is a two-step process during the discharge of
δ-MnO
2, including the subsequent insertion of H
+ and Mg
2+ [
106]. Two pairs of redox peaks based on manganese oxide as the cathode in aqueous MIB have been frequently observed before, which may be attributed to the co-insertion of H
+ and Mg
2+ [
107]. Huang
et al. [
108] show that proton co-insertion into tunneling materials is determined by a combination of interfacial derivation and internal diffusion. At the interface, the insertion kinetics of hydrated magnesium ions are poor and thus accumulate and hydrolyze to produce protons; in tunneling, the co-insertion/lattice water molecules impede the diffusion of magnesium ions while facilitating the diffusion of protons. The overall capacity contribution of proton insertion to aqueous cells is significant. Proton co-insertion is widespread in aqueous magnesium ion batteries and enables high performance in divalent ion aqueous batteries. Lee
et al. demonstrated that under low pH conditions (pH ≤ 3.0), proton insertion can precede the insertion of divalent ions. The number of protons in the electrolyte is no longer negligible under low pH conditions, so the overall redox potential and capacity may be affected by protons. In addition to pH, the relative ratio between the mass of the cathode material and the amount of electrolyte appears to be another important parameter to consider when evaluating the effect of protons in aqueous batteries [
109].