Self‐discharge caused by hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) coinciding with corrosion of the zinc anode is a major drawback of printed zinc‐air batteries. Thus, this work aims at suppressing self‐discharge of flexible printed zinc‐air batteries by coating thin layer of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) onto the surface of zinc particles. The Al2O3 coating layer was directly synthesized onto the zinc particles by a low‐cost and facile sol–gel method. The Al2O3 coating effectively mitigated HER of the zinc particles, and delayed the corrosion of the zinc anode. Further, the effects of the thickness of Al2O3 layer on corrosion behavior of the zinc anode in 9 M potassium hydroxide as well as performance of the batteries were investigated. With a proper thickness of Al2O3 coating, corrosion of the battery was considerably suppressed without sacrificing the battery performance.
(a) Photographic image of the fabricated battery, (b) transmission electron microscopic image of zinc particle coated with Al2O3.
This research investigates the impact of mixing oleylamine and oleic acid as the liquid matrix for sputtering of metal nanoparticles and the mixed liquid composition on the particle size, uniformity, and their colloidal and oxidation stability. The case study was conducted for Au and Cu which are noble and non-noble metal, respectively. The results reveal that the mixed liquids are more effective in producing smaller and more uniform metal nanoparticles. Smallest Au nanoparticles with highly colloidal stability over a year were obtained with equal volume of OA and OAm. OA/OAm 1/1 (v/v) also exhibited the best protection effect from oxidation for Cu nanoparticles. The results can be attributed to the improved viscosity and synergistic protecting capability of the mixed liquids compared with the single component liquids.
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