Electrodeposition of preferentially oriented zinc for flow-assisted alkaline batteries

Journal Article · Sun Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Power Sources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.01.026· OSTI ID:1211072

Desai, D; Wei, X; Steingart, DA; Banerjee, S

Preferred orientation of zinc deposits during charging is shown to significantly improve performance and cycle life in flow-assisted alkaline zinc batteries, which has not been demonstrated earlier. The preferred orientation of zinc deposits was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Compact zinc is found to have (11 (2) over bar2) preferred orientation on brass, which contributes to similar to 60% of the texture. The effect of charging current and zincate concentration on morphology was investigated in a rotating hull cell and correlated with anodic efficiency. Compact zinc deposits are found to have a fine-grained, bright finish and the highest anodic efficiency. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) proves that compact zinc corresponds to the minimum in the half-cell resistance. Morphological control using compact zinc could be accomplished using innovations such as pulse charging or enhanced mass-transfer to improve anode performance without affecting the cathode. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AR0000150
• OSTI ID: 1211072
• Journal Information: Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 256; ISSN 0378-7753
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English