Over the next few decades, the world will continue to transition away from fossil fuel-based power sources to sustainable sources like solar and wind. One of the largest challenges surrounding the transition is that these power sources are intermittent and will require energy storage to continuously supply power to consumers.
Traditional battery storage features lithium-ion storage cells, but these can be expensive and environmentally unfriendly. A promising alternative is zinc-ion, which is made of more abundant and less hazardous materials. However, zinc-ion batteries are far less stable in cycling performance, negating these advantages.
Yu et al. report a method to create ultra-stable zinc-ion batteries through a unique battery structure.
“Our result should provide researchers with a new dimension for the development of robust cathode materials for ultra-stable zinc-ion batteries,” said author Jun Ma. “The great long-term stability reported herein represents a step closer to large-scale storage of intermittent energy.”
The researchers identified vanadium compounds as potential candidates for high-performing cathodes, but most compounds identified undergo dissolution during charging and discharging and form inert byproducts. Attempts to prevent this often introduce additional complications.
The team’s solution is to create a dual-cation cathode with co-inserted sodium and zinc ions. The resulting structure is robust enough to last nearly 10,000 cycles while retaining many of the advantages of vanadium cathodes.
“We believe that multi-valent cations should produce a nice ‘teamwork’ of strong ionic bonding between the compound nanostructures,” said Ma.
The researchers’ next step is to focus on both the cathode and anode in an attempt to increase the overall capacity of zinc-ion batteries.
Source: “Ultra-stable zinc-ion batteries by suppressing vanadium dissolution via multiple ion-bonded vanadate cathodes,” by Huimin Yu, Jason David Whittle, Dusan Losic, and Jun Ma, Applied Physics Reviews (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0061714.
