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Molten Zinc Alloys for Lower Temperature, Lower Cost Liquid Metal Batteries
Author(s) -
Holubowitch Nicolas E.,
Manek Stephen E.,
Landon James,
Lippert Cameron A.,
Odom Susan A.,
Liu Kunlei
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.201600035
Subject(s) - molten salt , electrolyte , eutectic system , battery (electricity) , materials science , liquid metal , molten metal , capacity loss , energy storage , metal , electrode , chemical engineering , zinc , moisture , metallurgy , chemistry , composite material , alloy , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
A nontraditional liquid metal battery (LMB) is devised to address the drawbacks of molten salt‐based batteries with a simple design that does not require fragile membranes and is not limited to materials of specific densities. This battery contains coaxial, coplanar liquid Sn and Bi electrodes and a ZnCl 2 :KCl eutectic electrolyte. Molten Sn serves as a high‐capacity host material for depositing and stripping active Zn. In cells operating at 320 °C, the molten salt blankets the molten electrodes, isolating the half reactions while balancing charge with mobile Cl – ions. Even under exposure to ambient air and moisture, minimal capacity fade occurs during 30 days of cycling. The results indicate ZnCl 2 :KCl to be an excellent LMB electrolyte that functions without hermetic sealing when used at elevated temperatures. The findings contribute to the increasing interest in Zn‐based electrical energy storage with a design concept that opens the door to many unexplored materials for use in lower temperature liquid metal batteries.