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The method developed at the Technical University of Munich (Germany) is intended to make several hundred thousand charge and discharge cycles possible in the future instead of just a few thousand. A special protective coating for the zinc anodes of the batteries is crucial for this. By Petra Hannen .
A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new method that will enable aqueous zinc-ion batteries to withstand several hundred thousand charge and discharge cycles in the future.
This significant improvement in lifespan is made possible by a special protective layer for the batteries’ zinc anodes, according to a TUM statement. The researchers use a porous organic polymer called TpBD-2F to form a “stable, extremely thin and highly ordered film” on the zinc anode, which allows zinc ions to flow very efficiently through nanochannels while also keeping water away from the anode. “This layer solves previous problems such as the growth of needle-like zinc structures – known as zinc dendrites – as well as unwanted secondary chemical reactions that trigger hydrogen formation and corrosion,” the research team explains in the statement.
“Zinc-ion batteries with this new protective layer could replace lithium-ion batteries in large-scale energy storage applications, such as in combination with solar or wind power plants. They last longer, are safer, and zinc is cheaper and more readily available than lithium,” said Da Lei, a PhD student and lead author of the research paper “ Ion-Transport Kinetics and Interface Stability Augmentation of Zinc Anodes Based on Fluorinated Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films ,” published in Advanced Energy Materials .
Lithium remains the first choice for mobile applications such as electric vehicles and wearable devices, but its higher costs and environmental impact make it less attractive for large-scale energy storage.
“This is a truly spectacular research result,” adds Roland A. Fischer, Professor of Inorganic and Metalorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at TUM. “We have shown that the chemical method developed by Da Lei not only works, but is also controllable. As fundamental researchers, we are primarily interested in new scientific principles – and we have discovered one here. We have already developed a first prototype in the form of a button cell. I don’t see why our findings could not be transferred to wider applications. It is now up to engineers to take the idea into their own hands and develop suitable production processes.” |
