Aqueous zinc batteries using N-containing organic cathodes with Zn2+ and H+ Co-uptake

•Hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN) and hexamethoxy hexaazatrinaphthylene (HMHATN) were synthesized.•HATN and HMHATN can be used as cathode materials for Zn batteries.•HATN and HMHATN electrodes present high capacity with fast kinetics.•HATN and HMHATN electrodes show excellent cycling stability at 2 A/g.•Flexible aqueous Zn//HMHATN and Zn//HATN batteries have high capacity and long-term cycling life. Aqueous zinc batteries are considered as one of the most promising energy storage systems for large-scale energy storage and wearable electronics, owing to their low cost and intrinsic safety. However, developing high-performance cathode materials with environmentally friendly is still an important task. Here, we demonstrate that two N-containing organic compounds, hexamethoxy hexaazatrinaphthylene (HMHATN) and hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN), used as cathodes can exhibit high capacity with fast kinetics. Thus, the Zn//HMHATN and Zn//HATN full batteries display the high energy density of 160 and 221.6 W h Kg−1, respectively, and long-term cycling stability. Electrochemical analysis, density functional theory calculation and ex situ analysis identify that the organic cathodes involve uptake and removal of Zn2+ and H+ in the discharging-charging process. Furthermore, the flexible aqueous Zn//HMHATN and Zn//HATN batteries fabricated also have high capacity, long-term cycling life and impressive energy density, displaying its application prospect in wearable electronics.