High performance zinc air fuel cell stack

“…Moreover, using zinc as the anode has various advantages such as low cost, abundant resources, and no toxicity, etc. [6]. Primary zinc air batteries and mechanically rechargeable batteries have been widely investigated recently and primary button cells have been commercialized, such as in hearing-aid devices [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Characterization of an Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery Stack

Wang

Yue

et al. 2014

Energies

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An electrically rechargeable zinc-air battery stack consisting of three single cells in series was designed using a novel structured bipolar plate with air-breathing holes. Alpha-MnO2 and LaNiO3 severed as the catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The anodic and cathodic polarization and individual cell voltages were measured at constant charge-discharge (C-D) current densities indicating a uniform voltage profile for each single cell. One hundred C-D cycles were carried out for the stack. The results showed that, over the initial 10 cycles, the average C-D voltage gap was about 0.94 V and the average energy efficiency reached 89.28% with current density charging at 15 mA· cm −2 and discharging at 25 mA· cm −2 . The total increase in charging voltage over the 100 C-D cycles was ~1.56% demonstrating excellent stability performance. The stack performance degradation was analyzed by galvanostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The charge transfer resistance of ORR increased from 1.57 to 2.21 Ω and that of Zn/Zn 2+ reaction increased from 0.21 to 0.34 Ω after 100 C-D cycles.The quantitative analysis guided the potential for the optimization of both positive and negative electrodes to improve the cycle life of the cell stack.

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“…The air cathode catalyst was commercial manganese oxide (MnO 2 ) with conductive carbon materials due to its good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and low cost. 9,10 The zinc anode and air cathode was characterized by quasi steady-state polarization curves and impedance spectroscopy. The near-neutral electrolyte was demonstrated to be a more technically viable alternative to traditional alkaline counterpart.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Near-Neutral Chloride Electrolyte for Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries

Goh

Liu

Hor

et al. 2014

J. Electrochem. Soc.

133

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Near-neutral electrolytes based on zinc chloride and ammonium chloride are examined for rechargeable zinc-air battery application. The effects of pH value, salt concentration, and polyethylene glycol and thiourea additives are investigated and a chloride electrolyte is developed. The reversible zinc deposition and zinc stripping processes are studied by cyclic voltammetry with rotating-disc electrode technique. The zinc anode and air cathode behaviors in near-neutral chloride electrolyte are characterized by quasi steady-state polarization and impedance spectroscopy. Prototyped zinc-air battery with near-neutral chloride electrolytes can sustain more than 1000 hours and hundreds of discharge-charge cycles with minimized zinc dendrite formation and no carbonate formation problem, under discharge-charge capacity ranging from 20 to 120 mAh. The near-neutral chloride electrolyte provides a safer and more robust alternative to traditional alkaline electrolyte for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are efficient electrochemical energy storage devices with the advantages of high specific energy, safety and low cost. Primary ZABs batteries are commercially available to power hearing aids, railroad track circuits, warning lights and remote signals.1 These types of devices typically discharge at low rate over a long period of time. For broad applications and environmentally benignity, it is of great interest to upgrade the primary ZABs into electrically rechargeable ones. However, secondary ZABs batteries have not been commercialized due to some technical challenges.Electrolyte carbonation is one of the technical hurdles of electrically rechargeable ZABs. The traditional alkaline electrolyte reacts with CO 2 and results in the reduction of ionic conductivity. The precipitated carbonate particulates block the diffusion channels of air electrode. [2][3][4] This problem can be avoided by employing non-alkaline electrolytes, where no reactions with CO 2 occur. 5,6 Another technical challenge comes from the zinc dendrite formation. During battery charging, zinc tends to grow on protruded surfaces and results in zinc dendrites after prolonged charging/discharging cycles.7 Zinc dendrites could penetrate through the separator and eventually lead to short circuit when it reaches the air cathode. Generally, two mechanisms of additive are commonly known: (i) ligating with metal species and forming complexes; or (ii) adsorbing on the electrode surface and inhibiting metal nucleation. 8In this study, a near-neutral electrolyte was developed for electrically rechargeable zinc-air battery application. The effects of salt concentration, pH value and additives on zinc electrodeposition and stripping were studied in ZnCl 2 -based electrolyte baths by cyclic voltammetry and ZAB prototype tests. A suitable chloride-based nearneutral electrolyte suppressing zinc dendrite formation was developed for electrically rechargeable ZABs. The air cathode catalyst was commercial manganese oxide (MnO 2 ) with conductive carbon ma...

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High performance zinc air fuel cell stack

Cited by 69 publications

References 21 publications

Rechargeable Zn-air batteries: Progress in electrolyte development and cell configuration advancement

Rechargeable Zn-air batteries: Progress in electrolyte development and cell configuration advancement

Development and Characterization of an Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery Stack

A Near-Neutral Chloride Electrolyte for Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries

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