State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 May 22;62(22):e202303517. doi: 10.1002/anie.202303517. Epub 2023 Apr 21.
Despite their high output voltage and safety advantages, rechargeable alkaline nickel-zinc batteries face significant challenges associated with the cathodic side reaction of oxygen evolution, which results in low energy efficiency (EE) and poor stability. Herein, we propose to leverage the side oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in nickel-zinc batteries by coupling electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) in the cathode, thus constructing an air breathing cathode. Such a novel battery (Ni-ZnAB), designed in a pouch-type cell with a lean electrolyte, exhibits an outstanding EE of 85 % and a long cycle life of 100 cycles at 2 mA cm , which are significantly superior to those of traditional Ni-Zn batteries (54 %, 50 cycles). Compared to Ni-Zn, the enhanced EE of Ni-ZnAB is attributed to the contribution from ORR, while the improved cycling stability is because the stability of the anode, cathode and electrolyte are also enhanced in Ni-ZnAB. Furthermore, an ultrahigh stability of 500 cycles with an average EE of 84 % at 2 mA cm was achieved using a mold cell with rich electrolyte, demonstrating the strong application potential of Ni-ZnAB.
尽管可充式碱性镍锌电池具有高输出电压和安全优势，但它们面临着阴极析氧副反应带来的重大挑战，这导致其能量效率（EE）低下，稳定性差。在此，我们提出利用镍锌电池中的阴极侧氧气析出反应（OER），通过在阴极耦合用于氧还原反应（ORR）的电催化剂，从而构建一种空气呼吸阴极。这种新型电池（Ni-ZnAB）采用袋式电芯设计，电解液较薄，在 2 mA cm 的电流密度下，其 EE 达到 85%，循环寿命达到 100 次，明显优于传统的镍锌电池（54%，50 次）。与 Ni-Zn 相比，Ni-ZnAB 的增强 EE 归因于 ORR 的贡献，而循环稳定性的提高则是因为 Ni-ZnAB 中阳极、阴极和电解质的稳定性也得到了增强。此外，使用富电解液的模具电池还实现了超稳定的 500 次循环，平均 EE 为 84%，在 2 mA cm 的电流密度下，这展示了 Ni-ZnAB 强大的应用潜力。
