Chinese scientists create Membrane to improve Reversibility of Zinc-Air Batteries

ongoing

The long-standing challenges to the practical implementation of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are the electrochemical irreversibility of the Zn anode and degradation of the air cathodes in alkaline electrolyte, which eventually results in poor cycle life and low cell voltage. To improve the reversibility of ZABs, exhaustive efforts have been made to exploit highly survivable catalysts for the air cathode while weakening the corrosion of the Zn anode through electrode design or electrolyte additives. Taking a different approach, a research team led by ZHANG Xinbo from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently developed a high-voltage, stable hybrid ZAB by using a neutral Zn anode, an acidic cathode, and a dual-hydrophobic-induced, proton-shuttle-shielding membrane to separate the two electrodes.