Issue 23/2016 - Nankai team improves the performance of "aqueous zinc ion" batteries

Recently, Zhang Ning, a doctoral student at the School of Chemistry of Nankai University, designed a new cathode material and electrolyte for the "aqueous zinc ion" battery, which greatly improved the efficiency, safety and stability of zinc-ion batteries
.
Relevant scientific research results have been published in the leading journal of materials and chemistry, the American Chemical Society, and the results have now been patented
.

In terms of cathode materials, Zhang Ning and his team successfully synthesized cation-deficient ZnMn2O4 as a cathode by using the low-temperature solution method to optimize the experimental conditions, which greatly improved the cycle stability
of zinc-ion batteries.
In terms of electrolyte design, they found that zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate, as an electrolyte with a large anionic structure, has good zinc ion deposition and precipitation kinetics, and 100% coulombic efficiency can achieve fast charging and "zero waste"
of energy.

Zhang Ning said that the use of zinc-ion batteries can not only greatly improve battery performance, safety and stability, but also reduce costs
.
This battery cathode material has a low energy density, about half that of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, so it is more suitable for large-scale energy storage systems than for portable electronic devices such as mobile phones
.