Failure Mechanism, Electrolyte Design, and Electrolyte/Electrode Interface Regulation for Low‐Temperature Zinc‐Based Batteries

Abstract

With more renewable energy developed to satisfy the human need in the energy crisis, electricity storage is critical in power utilization and storage. Due to its high safety, high nature reserve, and high energy density, the zinc‐based battery is drawing increasing attention. Together with the expansion of human activities, the low‐temperature battery is developed to satisfy the power demand in extreme environments, and as a critical component, electrolytes shall have a low freezing point and satisfying electrochemical properties in cold conditions. In this review, the development of low‐temperature electrolytes for zinc‐based batteries will be comprehensively introduced. First, the failure mechanism of zinc‐based battery at low temperature will be illustrated. Second, five main types of low‐temperature electrolytes will be introduced in detail. Finally, the regulation of electrolyte/electrode surface at low temperature will be discussed. This review aims to provide a guideline for low‐temperature electrolyte design from the perspective of molecular behavior regulation.

Carbonate-Assisted Chaotropic Electrolyte for Zinc Ion Battery with Wide Temperature Operation

“…Currently, strategies to construct low-temperature ZIBs mainly focus on antifreezing additives or electrolytes with high-concentration and deep-eutectic properties, which manifest dramatically different physical and electrochemical performance compared to the conventional aqueous electrolytes. − As a concept originated from biochemistry, chaotropic salts have demonstrated unique advantages in the design of low-temperature electrolytes. , These agents feature anions with high negative electrostatic potential (ESP) (e.g., CF 3 SO 3 – , BF 4 – , ClO 4 – ), which can effectively interact with the water molecules and disrupt the hydrogen bond (H-bond) network, thus rapidly decreasing the freezing point of the electrolyte . For instance, the 2 M Zn­(CF 3 SO 3 ) 2 electrolyte can remain liquid at −34 °C, enabling the Zn–V 2 O 5 battery to operate at −30 °C, which exhibited a high specific capacity of 285.0 mAh g –1 and a capacity retention of 81.7% after 1000 cycles .…”