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QuoteStanford University scientists have developed an advanced zinc-air battery with higher catalytic activity and durability than similar batteries made with costly platinum and iridium catalysts. The results, published in the May 7 online edition of the journal Nature Communications, could lead to the development of a low-cost alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries widely used today.
"There have been increasing demands for high-performance, inexpensive and safe batteries for portable electronics, electric vehicles and other energy storage applications," said Hongjie Dai, a professor chemistry at Stanford and lead author of the study. "Metal-air batteries offer a possible low-cost solution."
According to Dai, most attention has focused on lithium-ion batteries, despite their limited energy density (energy stored per unit volume), high cost and safety problems. "With ample supply of oxygen from the atmosphere, metal-air batteries have drastically higher theoretical energy density than either traditional aqueous batteries or lithium-ion batteries," he said. "Among them, zinc-air is technically and economically the most viable option."
Zinc-air batteries combine atmospheric oxygen and zinc metal in a liquid alkaline electrolyte to generate electricity with a byproduct of zinc oxide. When the process is reversed during recharging, oxygen and zinc metal are regenerated.
"Zinc-air batteries are attractive because of the abundance and low cost of zinc metal, as well as the non-flammable nature of aqueous electrolytes, which make the batteries inherently safe to operate," Dai said. "Primary (non-rechargeable) zinc-air batteries have been commercialized for medical and telecommunication applications with limited power density. However, it remains a grand challenge to develop electrically rechargeable batteries, with the stumbling blocks being the lack of efficient and robust air catalysts, as well as the limited cycle life of the zinc electrodes."
Active and durable electrocatalysts on the air electrode are required to catalyze the oxygen-reduction reaction during discharge and the oxygen-evolution reaction during recharge. In zinc-air batteries, both catalytic reactions are sluggish, Dai said.
Recently, his group has developed a number of high-performance electrocatalysts made with non-precious metal oxide or nanocrystals hybridized with carbon nanotubes. These catalysts produced higher catalytic activity and durability in alkaline electrolytes than catalysts made with platinum and other precious metals.
"We found that similar catalysts greatly boosted the performance of zinc-air batteries," Dai said. both primary and rechargeable. "A combination of a cobalt-oxide hybrid air catalyst for oxygen reduction and a nickel-iron hydroxide hybrid air catalyst for oxygen evolution resulted in a record high-energy efficiency for a zinc-air battery, with a high specific energy density more than twice that of lithium-ion technology."
The novel battery also demonstrated good reversibility and stability over long charge and discharge cycles over several weeks. "This work could be an important step toward developing practical rechargeable zinc-air batteries, even though other challenges relating to the zinc electrode and electrolyte remain to be solved," Dai added.
So where is my Electric car that is as good as a gasoline car??
It ain't in North Carolina. They are trying to tax alternative fuel vehicles off the road.
Which one was it that tried to ban Electric Cars from their state because they didn't pay gas taxes and thus did not pay into the road maintenance fund?? one of the eastern seaboard states I think. It failed because idiot state senators don't know their own countries constitution.
Good. Right now I go through at least 8 AA's a week. It ain't cheap.
carbon nanotubes and grafine strike again.
Quote from: "stromboli"It ain't in North Carolina. They are trying to tax alternative fuel vehicles off the road.
I think you're referring to the state's attempt to prohibit purchase of a vehicle by phone or internet - which only applies to Tesla, but it's not anti-electric, it's anti-competition. The car dealers are the ones behind the bill. They'll gladly sell Tesla vehicles if Tesla sells through dealers.
The bill labeled anyone who provides a computer to order a car as a car dealer - which you can't be without licensing. That would make the person ordering a Tesla on his home computer a dealer, which would violate the dealer licensing requirement Nothing about alternate fuel vehicles, except for the fact that Tesla is the only manufacturer planning to do direct sales.
Quote from: "JI_Joe"So where is my Electric car that is as good as a gasoline car??
My brother drives a pure electric Nissan Leaf that he feels is as good as a gas car. Tesla cars have gotten good reviews. But, the world is ready for something better than Lithium Ion. This isn't the first experiments with zinc-air, they have been under research for some time. Still needs more work before commercially available.
Lithium-sulfur (//http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20130605-00) has potential. Cheaper, 4 times the energy density of a Li-ion and not a fire hazard.
Aluminium–air has potential as a primary cell. Al-air batteries have about the highest energy density of anything out there. They use expensive anode material though and are not rechargeable.
Very fascinating. Cheaper with more environmentally-friendly materials? Always good to hear.
I went looking for more information on new batteries and found this...
A Battery Made of Wood?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 195221.htm (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130619195221.htm)
:shock:
Quote from: "caseagainstfaith"Quote from: "JI_Joe"So where is my Electric car that is as good as a gasoline car??
My brother drives a pure electric Nissan Leaf that he feels is as good as a gas car. Tesla cars have gotten good reviews. But, the world is ready for something better than Lithium Ion. This isn't the first experiments with zinc-air, they have been under research for some time. Still needs more work before commercially available.
How about the electric brakes? I was watching ford focus electric reviews on youtube and apparently the feel of the brakes was not "Linear" and was described as a racheting sort of feel. I have not found any thing like that in other electric car reviews but I know the electric brake kits for trailers were not like this. I wonder what is up.
Quote from: "stromboli"It ain't in North Carolina. They are trying to tax alternative fuel vehicles off the road.
Kind of off topic, but are you living in North Carolina? If you are, what's going on with the protests there? Have you heard anything about them? See here:
viewtopic.php?f=25&p=937032#p937032 (http://www.atheistforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&p=937032#p937032)
Okay, I don't want to derail. Back to battery talk!