Materials and Structure Design for Solid-State Zinc-Ion Batteries: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Solid-state zinc-ion batteries (SSZIBs) are receiving much attention as low-cost and safe energy storage technology for emerging applications in flexible and wearable devices, and grid storage. However, the development of SSZIBs faces many challenges from key battery materials development to structure design. Herein, we review the most recent progress in the development of polymer electrolytes, cell chemistry and configuration, and demonstration of SSZIBs. In conclusion, perspectives for future research in materials, interface, and assessment of SSZIBs are discussed.

Stability Enhancement of Zinc‐Ion Batteries Using Non‐Aqueous Electrolytes

“…This is due to the combination of both cohesive and diffusive properties. The advantages of GPE over traditional liquid electrolytes are that the GPE can provide better homogeneity of Zn 2+ migration, minimizing the dendrite formation, higher dielectric constant and higher transference number [5,39] . Most recently published articles studied aqueous‐based GPEs, whilst nonaqueous‐based GPEs (NAQ‐GPEs) receive less attention [38a] .…”

“…The advantages of GPE over traditional liquid electrolytes are that the GPE can provide better homogeneity of Zn 2 + migration, minimizing the dendrite formation, higher dielectric constant and higher transference number. [5,39] Most recently published articles studied aqueousbased GPEs, whilst nonaqueous-based GPEs (NAQ-GPEs) receive less attention. [38a] However, despite aqueous-based GPEs exhibiting better mass transport than NAQ-GPEs, most NAQ-GPEs show wider operating temperatures.…”

Realizing Stretchable Aqueous Zn–Based Batteries by Material and Structural Designs

“…Thus, it is necessary to introduce chemical bonds at the interface and simultaneously attempt to reduce the shearing force at the interface of each specific spot. In addition, the configurational designs to dilute the external applied forces are another type of strategies to maintain the structural and performance stability (Liao et al, 2019;Qian et al, 2019;Hansen and Liu, 2021). The third is that more number of functionalities should be added into the stretchability to realize the final application as wearable power supplies.…”

“…The representative Zn-ion batteries are the most promising systems due to the outstanding electrochemical performance of Zn-metal anodes with a lower reaction potential (−0.76 V versus standard hydrogen reaction) and high theoretical gravimetric capacity (820 mA h g −1 ). Battery reaction chemistries regarding cathode materials are widely studied, such as ion-insertion-type cathodes like MnO 2 (Pan et al, 2016;Fang et al, 2019;Zhang T. et al, 2020) (Kundu et al, 2016;Xu et al, 2020), conversion-type cathodes (Ag 2 O) (Kumar et al, 2017;Kumar et al, 2019), and air cathodes (O 2 ) (Stock et al, 2019;Zhang Y. et al, 2021), where some detailed reviews have recently summarized these cathode/anode chemistries of Zn battery (Fang et al, 2018;Zhang W. et al, 2020;Hansen and Liu, 2021). On the contrary, the Zn-anode reactions can be classified into mild/neutral electrolytes and alkaline electrolytes, where reactions can be elaborated as Zn # Zn 2+ + 2e − for the mild/neutral electrolytes and they can be elaborated as Zn + 4OH − # Zn(OH) 4 2− + 2e − for alkaline cases (Zhou et al, 2021).…”

Zn-Based Deep Eutectic Solvent as the Stabilizing Electrolyte for Zn Metal Anode in Rechargeable Aqueous Batteries

“…Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted worldwide interest for their application in next-generation energy storage devices due to their notable characteristics, such as cost effectiveness, eco-friendliness, high safety, resource abundance, high volumetric capacity, and aqueous electrolyte compatibility (Hu et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020a;Hansen and Liu, 2021). The electrolytes in ZIBs are essential components that play a critical role in their electrochemical behavior (Zhang et al, 2020).…”