Polypyrrole coated ammonium vanadate cathode endow high-rate capability to aqueous zinc-on batteries

•A brand-new flexible NH4V4O10@PPy cathode was prepared in ZIBs.•The agglomerated Py increases the intercalation space of Zn2+, and part of the Zn ions are stored in the PPy structure.•The full cell constructed with NH4V4O10@PPy possesses a high specific capacity of 551.1 mAh·g−1. In this work, a brand-new flexible electrode made of 2D-linked, ultra-thin NH4V4O10 nanosheets grown on carbon cloth (CC) and coupled with polypyrrole (PPy) was prepared and used with zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). The application of PPy to the surface of NH4V4O10 nanosheets considerably improves the capacitance contribution and charge transfer rate, resulting in CC@NH4V4O10@PPy composites with high specific capacities and other electrochemical properties. It delivers a high specific capacity of 551.1 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 and a capacity retention of 79% over 1500 cycles at 5 A g−1. This innovative design creates a new operating method for excellent cathode materials for sophisticated ZIBs.