Controlling the sustainability and shape change of the zinc anode in rechargeable aqueous Zn/LiMn2O4 battery
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Date
2018-11-01
Authors
Xiong, Wenlong
Yang, Dongjie
Hoang, Tuan K. A.
Ahmed, Moin
Zhi, Jian
Qiu, Xueqing
Chen, Pu
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
The use of thixotropic gel electrolytes in the rechargeable hybrid aqueous battery improves the battery performance but it is required to have a corrosion inhibitor in the gel electrolyte. These inhibitors are not always friendly to the environment. In this work, we use lignin – a renewable material – to neutralize strong acid sites of the fumed silica gelling agent prior to gel preparation. Linear polarization, chronoamperometry, and ex-situ scanning electron microscopy examinations show that the new gel electrolyte reduces the corrosion on zinc (up to 43%) and supports planar zinc deposit. In other words, the shape of the zinc surface is controlled and it is further confirmed by the XRD and SEM of post-battery run anodes. Moreover, the battery using this new lignin coated fumed silica based gel electrolyte exhibits a float charge current as low as 0.0025 mA after 24 h of monitoring, which is 30.6% lower than the reference. The capacity retention of gelled battery is as high as 82% after 1000 cycles at 4 C, which is 14% higher than the reference battery using reference liquid electrolyte under the same CC-CV test, complemented by lower self-discharge and higher rate capability. The results lead the team nearer to a commercializable gelled battery system.
Description
The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2018.03.023 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords
Corrosion, Aqueous battery, Gel electrolyte, Lignin/silica composite