• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.368-378
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• 2024

The growing environmental concerns due to increased fossil fuel consumption have intensified the demand for sustainable and economically viable energy sources. Among the various energy storage devices, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in electronic devices and electric vehicles due to their high energy density and excellent cycle life. However, LIBs face challenges such as safety concerns due to side reactions, thermal expansion, and explosion risks, along with issues of limited resource availability and high costs. As a result, multivalent metals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and aluminum are being explored as alternatives to lithium. Recently, there has been significant interest in developing aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) due to their use of water as an electrolyte solvent, which enhances safety by reducing the risk of fire even in the event of a short circuit. Additionally, AZIBs offer benefits such as non-toxicity, fast ion conductivity, high volumetric capacity, and cost-effectiveness due to the abundance of zinc. Despite these advantages, AZIBs face challenges including dendrite formation on the zinc anode during cycling, leading to short circuits, corrosion, and hydrogen gas evolution, which can compromise battery performance and safety. This review discusses the underlying mechanisms of these issues and explores various strategies to stabilize the zinc anode and improve the overall performance of AZIBs.

• Ceramist
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.312-330
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• 2018

Energy storage/conversion has become crucial not only to meet the present energy demand but also more importantly to sustain the modern society. Particularly, electrical energy storage is critical not only to support electronic, vehicular and load-levelling applications but also to efficiently commercialize renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. While Li-ion batteries are being intensely researched for electric vehicle applications, there is a pressing need to seek for new battery chemistries aimed at stationary storage systems. In this aspect, Zn-ion batteries offer a viable option to be utilized for high energy and power density applications since every intercalated Zn-ion yields a concurrent charge transfer of two electrons and thereby high theoretical capacities can be realized. Furthermore, the simplicity of fabrication under open-air conditions combined with the abundant and less toxic zinc element makes aqueous Zn-ion batteries one of the most economical, safe and green energy storage technologies with prospective use for stationary grid storage applications. Also, Zn-ion batteries are very safe for next-generation technologies based on flexible, roll-up, wearable implantable devices the portable electronics market. Following this advantages, a wide range of approaches and materials, namely, cathodes, anodes and electrolytes have been investigated for Zn-ion batteries applications to date. Herein, we review the progresses and major advancements related to aqueous. Zn-ion batteries, facilitating energy storage/conversion via $Zn^{2+}$ (de)intercalation mechanism.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.162-173
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• 2023

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are considered as promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries for energy storage owing to their safety and cost efficiency. However, their lifespan is limited by the irreversibility of Zn anodes because of Zn dendrite growth and side reactions such as the hydrogen evolution reaction and corrosion during cycling. Herein, we present a strategy to restrict direct contact between the Zn anode and aqueous electrolyte by fabricating a protective layer on the surface of Zn foil via phosphidation method. The Zn₃(PO₄)₂ protective layer effectively suppresses Zn dendrite growth and side reactions in aqueous electrolytes. The electrochemical properties of the Zn₃(PO₄)₂@Zn anode, such as the overpotential, linear polarization resistance, and hydrogen generation reaction, indicate that the protective layer can suppress interfacial corrosion and improve the electrochemical stability compared to that of bare Zn by preventing direct contact between the electrolyte and the active sites of Zn. Remarkably, MnO₂ Zn₃(PO₄)₂@Zn exhibited enhanced reversibility owing to the formation a stable porous layer, which effectively inhibited vertical dendrite growth by inducing the uniform plating of Zn²⁺ ions underneath the formed layer.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2024

There have been continuous requirements for developing more reliable energy storage systems that could address unsolved problems in conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and thus be a proper option for large-scale applications like energy storage system (ESS). As a promising solution, aqueous metal-ion batteries (AMIBs) where water is used as a primary electrolyte solvent, have been emerging owing to excellent safety, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendly feature. Particularly, AMIBs adopting mutivalence metal ions (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Al³⁺) as mobile charge carriers has been paid much attention because of their abundance on globe and high volumetric capacity. In this research trend review, one of the most popular AMIBs, zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), will be discussed. Since it is well-known that ZIBs suffer from various (electro) chemical/physical side reactions, we introduce the challenges and recent advances in the study of ZIBs mainly focusing on widening the electrochemical window of aqueous electrolytes as well as improving electrochemical properties of cathode, and anode materials.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2021

The effects of electrolyte concentration on the electrochemical properties of Fe4[Fe(CN6)]3(FeHCF) as a novel active material for the electrode of aqueous zinc-ion batteries was investigated. The electrochemical reactions and structural stability of the FeHCF electrode were significantly affected by the electrolyte concentration. In the electrolyte solutions of 1.0-7.0 mol dm-3, the charge-discharge capacities increased with increasing electrolyte concentration, however gradually decreased as the cycle progressed. On the other hand, in the 9.0 mol dm-3 electrolyte solution, the initial capacity was relatively small, however showed good cyclability. Additionally, the FeHCF electrode after five cycles in the former electrolyte solutions, had a change in crystal structure, whereas there was no change in the latter electrolyte solution. This suggests that the performance of the FeHCF electrode is greatly influenced by the hydration structure of zinc ions present in electrolyte solutions.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2012

In order to understand the nature of dendritic zinc growth, electrochemical zinc redox reaction on nickel plate was investigated in aqueous solutions containing different concentrations, 0.2, 0.1 and 0.02 $mol{\cdot}dm^{-3}$ (M), of zinc sulfate ($ZnSO_4$) or zinc chloride ($ZnCl_2$). Zinc ion was efficiently reduced and oxidized on nickel in the high-concentration (0.2 M) solution, whereas relatively poor efficiency was obtained from the other low-concentration solutions (0,1 and 0.02 M). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis revealed that the 0.2 M electrolyte solution decomposes at more positive potentials than the 0.1 and the 0.02 M solutions. These results suggested that the concentration of electrolyte solution and anion would be an important factor that suppresses the reaction of the zinc dendrite formation. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) data revealed that the shape of dendritic zinc and its growing behavior were also influenced by electrolyte concentration.