A rechargeable zinc-air battery based on zinc peroxide chemistry.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Sun, Wei; Wang, Fei, ; Zhang, Bao; Zhang, Mengyi; Küpers, Verena; Ji, Xiao; Theile, Claudia; Bieker, Peter; Xu, Kang, ; Wang, Chunsheng, ; Winter, Martin,
- Source
- Science; 1/1/2021, Vol. 371 Issue 6524, p46-51, 6p, 4 Graphs
- Subject
- Storage batteries
Energy density
Aqueous electrolytes
Oxidation-reduction reaction
Zinc ions
- Language
- ISSN
- 00368075
Rechargeable alkaline zinc-air batteries promise high energy density and safety but suffer from the sluggish 4 electron (e−)/oxygen (O2) chemistry that requires participation of water and from the electrochemical irreversibility originating from parasitic reactions caused by caustic electrolytes and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Here, we report a zinc-O2/zinc peroxide (ZnO2) chemistry that proceeds through a 2e−/O2 process in nonalkaline aqueous electrolytes, which enables highly reversible redox reactions in zinc-air batteries. This ZnO2 chemistry was made possible by a water-poor and zinc ion (Zn2+)–rich inner Helmholtz layer on the air cathode caused by the hydrophobic trifluoromethanesulfonate anions. The nonalkaline zinc-air battery thus constructed not only tolerates stable operations in ambient air but also exhibits substantially better reversibility than its alkaline counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]