Electrode Design for Durable and Energy-Dense Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries

Abstract

Zinc-air batteries have been proposed as a low-cost and energy-dense candidate to replace or supplement lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. This thesis explores the viability of zinc-air batteries in electric vehicles and experimentally investigates the use of nickel-based air electrodes. The failure mechanism of these electrodes is uncovered, and a new nickel-based air electrode having both improved cycle life and substantially lower mass and volume than previous designs is presented.