Two major challenges hinder the advance of aqueous zinc metal batteries for sustainable stationary storage: (1) achieving predominant Zn-ion (de)intercalation at the oxide cathode by suppressing adventitious proton co-intercalation and dissolution, and (2) simultaneously overcoming Zn dendrite growth at the anode that triggers parasitic electrolyte reactions. Here, we reveal the competition between Zn 2+ vs proton intercalation chemistry of a typical oxide cathode using ex-situ/ operando techniques, and alleviate side reactions by developing a cost-effective and non-flammable hybrid eutectic electrolyte. A fully hydrated Zn 2+ solvation structure facilitates fast charge transfer at the solid/electrolyte interface, enabling dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping with a remarkably high average coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at commercially relevant areal capacities of 4 mAh cm −2 and function up to 1600 h at 8 mAh cm −2 . By concurrently stabilizing Zn redox at both electrodes, we achieve a new benchmark in Zn-ion battery performance of 4 mAh cm −2 anode-free cells that retain 85% capacity over 100 cycles at 25 °C. Using this eutectic-design electrolyte, Zn | |Iodine full cells are further realized with 86% capacity retention over 2500 cycles. The approach represents a new avenue for long-duration energy storage.
Li, Chang, Kingsbury, Ryan, Thind, Arashdeep Singh, Shyamsunder, Abhinandan, Fister, Timothy T., Klie, Robert F., Persson, Kristin A., & Nazar, Linda F. (2023). Enabling selective zinc-ion intercalation by a eutectic electrolyte for practical anodeless zinc batteries. Nature Communications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38460-2
@article{osti_1975427,
author = {Li, Chang and Kingsbury, Ryan and Thind, Arashdeep Singh and Shyamsunder, Abhinandan and Fister, Timothy T. and Klie, Robert F. and Persson, Kristin A. and Nazar, Linda F.},
title = {Enabling selective zinc-ion intercalation by a eutectic electrolyte for practical anodeless zinc batteries},
annote = {Abstract Two major challenges hinder the advance of aqueous zinc metal batteries for sustainable stationary storage: (1) achieving predominant Zn-ion (de)intercalation at the oxide cathode by suppressing adventitious proton co-intercalation and dissolution, and (2) simultaneously overcoming Zn dendrite growth at the anode that triggers parasitic electrolyte reactions. Here, we reveal the competition between Zn 2+ vs proton intercalation chemistry of a typical oxide cathode using ex-situ/ operando techniques, and alleviate side reactions by developing a cost-effective and non-flammable hybrid eutectic electrolyte. A fully hydrated Zn 2+ solvation structure facilitates fast charge transfer at the solid/electrolyte interface, enabling dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping with a remarkably high average coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at commercially relevant areal capacities of 4 mAh cm −2 and function up to 1600 h at 8 mAh cm −2 . By concurrently stabilizing Zn redox at both electrodes, we achieve a new benchmark in Zn-ion battery performance of 4 mAh cm −2 anode-free cells that retain 85% capacity over 100 cycles at 25 °C. Using this eutectic-design electrolyte, Zn | |Iodine full cells are further realized with 86% capacity retention over 2500 cycles. The approach represents a new avenue for long-duration energy storage. },
doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-38460-2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1975427},
journal = {Nature Communications},
issn = {ISSN 2041-1723},
number = {1},
volume = {14},
place = {United Kingdom},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
year = {2023},
month = {05}}