Premium
An Areal‐Energy Standard to Validate Air‐Breathing Electrodes for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Batteries
Author(s) -
Hopkins Brandon J.,
Chervin Christopher N.,
Parker Joseph F.,
Long Jeffrey W.,
Rolison Debra R.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.202001287
Subject(s) - electrode , materials science , zinc , energy storage , energy (signal processing) , nanotechnology , metallurgy , chemistry , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , statistics , mathematics
Rechargeable zinc–air batteries may become safe, sustainable, low‐cost, and energy‐dense alternatives to Li‐ion batteries for many applications, but problems associated with today's air‐breathing electrodes limit zinc–air performance. To overcome this challenge, researchers have investigated hundreds of air‐breathing electrode variations over the last decade. Unfortunately, the efficacy of these variations remains ambiguous due to nonstandardized cycling protocols that map to areal‐energy values spanning five orders of magnitude. To compete with Li‐ion batteries, researchers should cycle zinc–air cells at 35 mWh cm geo −2 , but only 8, of the 100 publications reviewed here, breach this threshold. Once the community cycles zinc–air cells at the proposed areal energy and better understands failure mechanisms, lab‐scale results will translate to practical advancements.