Rechargeable Zinc-Aqueous Polysulfide Battery with a Mediator-Ion Solid Electrolyte

Abstract

Large-scale energy storage for the electric grid will require low-cost and high-energy-density solutions. We demonstrate in this letter a rechargeable zinc-aqueous polysulfide battery in which a metallic zinc anode is separated from a liquid aqueous polysulfide catholyte by an alkali-metal-ion solid-state electrolyte, wherein the alkali metal ion is Na or Li. The solid-state electrolyte effectively separates the anode from the reactive polysulfide catholyte, preventing the crossover of the polysulfide species and maintaining good electrochemical performance with a reversible discharge capacity of 822 mA h g with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency.

Design Rules for Membranes from Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity for Crossover-free Aqueous Electrochemical Devices

“…cation exchange membranes with tunable thickness (10-300 mm as stand-alone membranes; 0.5-200 mm as supported membranes) and high conductivity (up to 21.5 mS cm À1 in 5.0 M aqueous KOH) in aqueous electrolytes (pH 4. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] (Table S1). In addition, AquaPIM membranes selectively block active-material crossover relevant to a variety of energy storage devices, including Zn-Na 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl-4-sulfate 13 (i.e., TEMPO-sulfate), Zn-K 4 Fe(CN) 6 , 14 and Zn-Na 2 S 4 15 batteries.…”

“…[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] (Table S1). In addition, AquaPIM membranes selectively block active-material crossover relevant to a variety of energy storage devices, including Zn-Na 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl-4-sulfate 13 (i.e., TEMPO-sulfate), Zn-K 4 Fe(CN) 6 , 14 and Zn-Na 2 S 4 15 batteries. AquaPIMs' stability-conductivity-selectivity relationships contrast favorably with both non-selective mesoporous Celgard 3501 separators 16 and ionselective Nafion 212 membranes, 17,18 indicating AquaPIMs are well positioned to offer substantive benefits to aqueous electrochemical cell performance, particularly for alkaline cell chemistries.…”

“…Furthermore, the design rules laid out here for linking membrane stability, conductivity, and transport selectivity to prospects for cell performance are also compelling. These experimentally validated guiding principles should accelerate the identification of ion-selective polymer membranes for the broad palette of emerging aqueous cell chemistries, including those based on inorganics, 15,19,20 metal coordination complexes, 14,[21][22][23] organometallics, 24,25 polyoxometalates, [26][27][28] redox-active organic molecules, 13,25,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] and related macromolecular redoxmers. [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]…”

Metal Sulfide‐Decorated Carbon Sponge as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst and Absorbant for Polysulfide in High‐Loading Li2S Batteries

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with a high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mA h g −1 ) and nontoxicity and natural abundance of sulfur have been regarded as perhaps the most promising alternative for next-generation energy storage systems. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with a high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mA h g −1 ) and nontoxicity and natural abundance of sulfur have been regarded as perhaps the most promising alternative for next-generation energy storage systems.…”

“…Advanced energy storage devices with long cycle life, high energy density, and low cost are urgently required to overcome the challenges of the ever-increasing energy consumption. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with a high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mA h g −1 ) and nontoxicity and natural abundance of sulfur have been regarded as perhaps the most promising alternative for next-generation energy storage systems. [9][10][11][12][13][14] It is well-known that there are still several prevent the graphene nanosheets from aggregating.…”