Recent Progress on Zinc-Ion Rechargeable Batteries

• Published in: Nano-micro letters Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 1 - 30
• Main Authors: Xu, Wangwang, Wang, Ying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 17.10.2019; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Anodes; Aqueous electrolytes; Batteries; Cathode; Cathodes; Cost effectiveness; Electric energy storage; Electrode materials; Electrolyte; Electrolytes; Energy; Energy storage; Engineering; Flexible device; Flux density; High temperature; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Molten salt electrolytes; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Natural resources; Nonaqueous electrolytes; Rechargeable batteries; Review; Separators; Solid electrolytes; Solid state; Storage batteries; Storage systems; Zinc anode; Zinc-ion batteries; Flexible device; Zinc-ion batteries; Electrolyte; Zinc anode; Cathode
• ISSN: 2311-6706; 2150-5551; 2150-5551
• DOI: 10.1007/s40820-019-0322-9

Highlights The recent progress about zinc-ion batteries was systematically summarized in detail, including the merits and limits of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes, various cathode materials, zinc anode, and solid-state zinc-ion batteries. Current challenges and perspectives to future research directions are also provided. The increasing demands for environmentally friendly grid-scale electric energy storage devices with high energy density and low cost have stimulated the rapid development of various energy storage systems, due to the environmental pollution and energy crisis caused by traditional energy storage technologies. As one of the new and most promising alternative energy storage technologies, zinc-ion rechargeable batteries have recently received much attention owing to their high abundance of zinc in natural resources, intrinsic safety, and cost effectiveness, when compared with the popular, but unsafe and expensive lithium-ion batteries. In particular, the use of mild aqueous electrolytes in zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) demonstrates high potential for portable electronic applications and large-scale energy storage systems. Moreover, the development of superior electrolyte operating at either high temperature or subzero condition is crucial for practical applications of ZIBs in harsh environments, such as aerospace, airplanes, or submarines. However, there are still many existing challenges that need to be resolved. This paper presents a timely review on recent progresses and challenges in various cathode materials and electrolytes (aqueous, organic, and solid-state electrolytes) in ZIBs. Design and synthesis of zinc-based anode materials and separators are also briefly discussed.