Working Aqueous Zn Metal Batteries at 100 °C

et al. 2022

Combining noble metals with nonnoble metals is an attractive strategy to balance the activity and cost of electrocatalysts. However, a guiding principle for selecting suitable nonnoble metals is still lacking. Herein, a thorough mechanistic study on the platform oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst of Ir@Co3O4 to deeply understand the synergy between Ir and Co3O4 for the boosted OER has been carried out. It is demonstrated that the pseudocapacitive feature of Co3O4 plays a key role in accumulating sufficient positive charge [Q], while the Ir sites are responsible for achieving a high reaction order (β), synergistically contributing to the high OER activity of Ir@Co3O4 through the rate law equation. Specifically, Ir@Co3O4 displays a low overpotential of 280 mV at 10 mA cm−2 with a small Ir loading of 1.4 wt%. Ir@Co3O4 is further applied to Zn‐air batteries, which enables a low charging potential and thus alleviates the oxidative corrosion of the air electrode, leading to improved cycle stability of 210 h at 20 mA cm−2. This work demonstrates that anchoring active noble metal sites (for high β) on pseudocapacitive supports (for high [Q]) is highly favorable to the OER process, providing a clear guidance for boosting the utilization of noble metals in electrocatalysis.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Charge Accumulation and High Reaction Order for High‐Rate Oxygen Evolution and Long Stable Zn‐Air Batteries

Dai

et al. 2022

“…The operating temperature has a significant impact on cell performance, but studies about aqueous ZIBs under high and low temperature conditions have rarely been explored. At high temperatures, the accelerated reaction kinetics will exacerbate severe Zn corrosion and HER, [ 191 ] which puts higher demands on the development of artificial interfaces with superior thermal stability and protective functions. At low temperatures, electrolyte and anode side issues pose more serious challenges at the electrode/electrolyte interface, including electrolyte freezing, Zn dendrite formation, and side reactions, which are the main factors limiting the cycle life of aqueous ZIBs.…”

Section: Summary and Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Insights on Artificial Interphases of Zn and Electrolyte: Protection Mechanisms, Constructing Techniques, Applicability, and Prospective

Yang

Zhao

et al. 2023

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) with metallic Zn anodes have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems due to their inherent safety and competitive capacity. However, challenges of Zn anodes, including dendrite growth and side reactions, impede the commercialization of ZIBs. The regulation of the Zn/electrolyte interphase is a feasible method to achieve high-performance ZIBs with prolonged lifespan and high reversibility. Considering the as-made artificial interphase is the result of a combination of protection materials, protection mechanisms, and construction techniques, this review comprehensively summarizes the recent progress of interphase modulation and provides a systematic guideline for constructing ideal artificial layers. In addition to revealing the entanglement relationship between the failure behaviors of Zn anodes and timely concluding the emerging protection mechanisms for stable Zn/electrolyte interphase, this review also evaluates the constructing techniques in regard of commercialization, including engineering workflow, strength, shortcoming, applicable materials, and protection effect, aiming to pave the way to practical application. Finally, this review presents noteworthy points of ideal artificial layer. It is expected that this review can enlighten researchers to not only explore ideal interphases of Zn anodes for practical application, but also design other metal anodes in aqueous batteries with similar failure behaviors.

Section: Electrode Materials For Electrocapacitive Deionizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrocapacitive Deionization: Mechanisms, Electrodes, and Cell Designs

Sun

Tebyetekerwa

et al. 2023

freshwater storage. [6,7] Figure 1 shows the annual average monthly blue water (fresh surface water and groundwater) scarcity.Regions like Australia, central America, North China, and North Africa face the highest freshwater scarcity. Two-thirds of the global population suffers from severe freshwater scarcity at least 1 month of the year, and half a billion people worldwide face severe freshwater scarcity all year around. [8] This issue will intensify in the future due to climate change and evergrowing water consumption.The earth's climate and the terrestrial water cycle have a close and complex relationship. [9] Climate change is causing parts of the water cycle to speed up as warming temperatures increase the water evaporation rate. Scientific evidence shows that global warming is now unequivocal. [10] Greenhouse gas emissions have steeply increased, directly affecting terrestrial water budgets. For example, water decreases have already been observed in western Africa, southwestern Australia, the Yellow River basin in China, and the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America. Such decreases affect freshwater availability directly. [8,11] In addition to the negative effects of climate change on freshwater access, the higher water consumption of our world population and economic activities are causing great additional freshwater stress. For example, agriculture consumes 50-60%, industries use 5-10%, and 10-20% is used for urban purposes. [12] Further, many of these activities may lead to polluted water, decreasing the available clean and freshwater. For these reasons, the United Nations declared freshwater as one of the many global challenges that need immediate action for sustainable development. [13] Depending on the total mass of dissolved solids in water, natural water is classified into brine water (>50 g L −1 ), saline water (30-50 g L −1 ), brackish water (0.5-30 g L −1 ), and freshwater (0-0.5 g L −1 ). [14] According to the World Health Organization, drinkable water should contain <0.25 g L −1 of salt, and the limitation on agriculture irrigation is 2 g L −1 . [15,16] There is a need to obtain freshwater by leveraging the tremendous amount of non-fresh water that can be made useable. This can be done by extracting undesirable ions from existing water in a desalination process. This process needs to be energy-efficient and cheap for sustainability and affordability. Water desalination is a promising and practical approach to maintaining an adequate potable water supply. [17,18] Capacitive deionization (CDI) is burgeoning as a cost-effective and energy-efficient