Wang, ShijianGuo, XinHuang, KunAchari, AmritroopSafaei, JavadLei, YaojieLi, DongfangGu, QinfenSun, ChenghuaGloag, LucyLangford, StevenGeim, AndreNair, Rahul RaveendranWang, Guoxiu2026-02-272026-02-272041-1723PubMed:40467665ORCID:/0000-0001-7548-1521/work/206440555https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733806708The Jahn-Teller and cooperative Jahn-Teller effects are phenomena that induce asymmetry in individual ions and solid-state lattices and are commonly observed in structures containing specific transition metals, such as copper and manganese. Although the Jahn-Teller effect causes lattice distortions that stress electrode materials in rechargeable batteries, strategically utilising the strain generated by cooperative Jahn-Teller distortions can enhance structural stability. Here we introduce the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect on MnO2 by constructing a two-dimensional superlattice structure with graphene crated in the bulk MnO2/graphene composite material. The strong interaction between MnO2 and graphene increases the concentration of high-spin Mn3+ ions, creating orderly long-range biaxial strains that are compressive in the out-of-plane direction and tensile in the in-plane direction. These strains mitigate Zn2+ intercalation stress and proton corrosion, enabling over 5000 cycles with 165 mAh g−1 capacity retention at 5 C (1 C = 308 mA g−1) in aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Our approach offers an effective strategy to significantly enhance the lifetime of rechargeable batteries by introducing the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect that overcomes the stress of ion insertion in electrode materials.Thanks for the support from Associate Professor Peng Li from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Professor Qiaobao Zhang from Xiamen University, and Dr. Zefu Huang from University of Technology Sydney. This work was financially supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the Discovery Projects (DP210101389 and DP230101579) and ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions (IH180100020). Part of the experiment was carried out at the PD Beamline (M18798 and M20371) of the Australian Melbourne Synchrotron. G. W. would like to acknowledge the support provided by The Royal Society, UK through the Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellowship (RSWVF\VF\R3\233017).12en© 2025 The Authors2025-06-0410.1038/s41467-025-60558-y105007291265