IMAGE: The basis of the innovative battery chemistry for non-alkaline, aqueous electrolyte zinc-air battery is. view more
Credit: WWU – MEETING (Judith Kraft)
High performance, eco-friendly, safe and at the same time cost-effective: the air-sink battery is an attractive energy storage technology of the future. To date, the conventional zinc-air battery has struggled with high chemical instability, parasitic reactions rooted in the use of alkaline electrolytes lead to electrochemical instability. Based on an innovative, non-alkaline aqueous electrolyte, an international research team led by scientist Dr. Wei Sun from the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Muenster has developed a new battery chemistry for the air-zinc battery that surpasses the previous technique. cnapan-starra. The scientific team has published the detailed results of their research project, which included researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, the University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, the University of Maryland and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, in the journal “Science“.
Key parameters of the air sink battery are increased
“Our innovative, non-alkaline electrolyte incorporates previously unknown zinc peroxide (ZnO2) / O2 chemistry into the zinc air battery,” explains Dr. Wei Sun. Comparison compared to the normally strong alkaline electrolytes, the newly developed non-alkaline aqueous electrolyte, which is based on the zinc salt trifluoromethanesulfonate, has several definite advantages: The zinc anode is used in a more efficient way with stability higher chemical and electrochemical reversibility.The built-in full-air zinc batteries can operate stably for 320 cycles and 1,600 hours under ambient air conditioning.
The mechanism of this ZnO2 / O2 battery chemistry and the role of the hydrophobic anion trifluoromethanesulfonate have been systematically demonstrated using electrochemical methods, analysis and well-designed multivariate designs. The specified energy density is now able to compete with the lithium-ion battery that is currently above the market. “The air-sink battery offers potential battery technology with potential benefits such as environmental friendliness, high safety and low costs,” stresses Sun. “This technology still requires more intensive research and optimization before it can be used in practice.”
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Original publication:
Sun W, Wang F, Zhang B, Zhang M, Küpers V, Ji X, Theile C, Bieker P, Xu K, Wang C, Winter M, 2021, ‘Rechargeable zinc-air battery based on zinc peroxide chemistry’, Science 01 January 2021: Book III. 371, Journal 6524, pp. 46-51, DOI: 10.1126 / science.abb9554
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