FES Funded ProjectsOutputs
Title |
Category |
Date |
Authors |
Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Zinc-Air Batteries Operating at Low TemperaturesPoster presentation for FES Fall Symposium 2021T06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-09-17 | | Efficient Low Temperature Performance of All Solid-State Zinc-air Batteries with MnCo2O4/Carbon Fiber Bifunctional Electrocatalyst and Poly(acrylic Acid) (PAA) Polymer ElectrolyteSpinel type MnCo2O4 coated on asphaltene based carbon fibers (MnCo2O4/CF) was used as the electrode material/electrocatalyst for air electrodes for zinc‐air batteries (ZABs). The batteries were assembled using an alkaline poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel electrolyte. The low temperature battery performance of the prepared ZAB cells was studied in terms of charge/discharge voltage and efficiency at different current densities, cycle life, power density, and cell voltage at temperatures between −45 °C and 21 °C. At all temperatures, the ZABs successfully completed 200 cycles of charge/discharge (100 h) at 2 mA cm−2 which is double the current density reported in the recent literature. The maximum power densities at 0 and −45 °C were 75 and 12 mW cm−2, respectively. The good performance is attributed to the porous design of the air electrode and the use of an efficient electrocatalyst and an optimized gel polymer electrolyte.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-02-02 | "Zahra Abedi ", Jiayao Cui, "Weixing Chen ", Ivey, D. | Zinc-Air Batteries with Efficient and Stable MnCo2O4/Carbon Fiber Bifunctional Electrocatalyst and Poly(acrylic Acid) (PAA) Based Gel ElectrolyteEfficient and high-performance zinc–air batteries (ZABs) with gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) were prepared. Cubic spinel-type MnCo2O4-coated carbon fibers (MnCo2O4/CF) were used to prepare air electrodes, and poly(acrylic acid) was used to prepare alkaline GPEs. Materials characterization, including electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, confirmed the formation of MnCo2O4 on the CFs. The optimum composition of the GPE was determined by rheological measurements and battery testing; using GPE with a crosslinker concentration of 30 mM led to the best performing battery. Full-cell battery tests and cycling tests showed that this ZAB cell had outstanding performance with an initial efficiency of 62.6% at 10 mA cm–2, which degraded by only 6.5% after 200 cycles (100 h). The power output of this cell was 240 mW cm–2, which is superior to the power outputs reported in the recent literature for ZABs.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-11-04 | "Zahra Abedi ", Jiayao Cui, "Weixing Chen ", Ivey, D. | Low-Temperature Tolerant Poly(Acrylic Acid) (PAA) Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Zinc-Air BatteriesGel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are emerging materials for Zn-air batteries (ZABs), since the GPE can act as a combined electrolyte and separator in the battery. GPE-KOH was fabricated through the polymerization of poly(acrylic) acid in the presence of KOH and ZnO. GPE-KOH-KI was fabricated following a similar procedure, followed by immersion in a solution containing KOH, KI and ZnO. The addition of KI to the electrolyte changed the conventional charging reaction to a reaction with a lower thermodynamic barrier, which improved the battery efficiency with a maximum increase of 36% relative to ZABs without KI. This work focused on extending the working temperature range of the ZAB to low temperatures (as low as -41℃) as well as exploring the reaction mechanism for ZABs using KI as an additive. It is proposed that the discharging reaction at the air electrode is a combination of the oxygen reduction reaction and iodate reduction reaction.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-05-11 | | Zinc-Air Battery Advances: Efficiency, Stability, and Low Temperature OperationPoster presentation on progress in Ivey Group on zinc-air batteries.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2023-04-28 | | Modified Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Zinc-Air Batteries Operating at Various TemperaturesPresentation dealing with gel polymers for application as the electrolyte in zinc-air batteries.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-06-14 | | Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Zinc-air Batteries Operating at Low TemperaturesGel polymers for use as the electrolyte for zinc-air batteries in applications at low temperatures. T06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-05-24 | | ECS Travel Grant for 241st ECS MeetingCompetitive award to help fund travel to ECS conference. T06-P03 | Award | 2022-05-29 | Jiayao Cui | Low-Temperature Tolerant Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Zn-Air BatteriesMSc thesisT06-P03 | Publication | 2022-12-22 | Jiayao Cui | O, N-Enriched, Self-Activated, Holey Carbon Sheets for High-Loading Zinc-Ion SupercapacitorsT06-Q03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-12-27 | Zhixiao Xu, "Zhe Sun ", "Janay Shan ", "Song Jin ", Jiayao Cui, Zhiping Deng, Min Ho Seo, Wang, X. | Functional Electrolyte Additives for Zinc-Ion BatteriesT06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2024-05-24 | | Zinc-philic Electrolyte Additives for Zinc-Ion BatteriesT06-P03 University of Alberta | Activity | 2024-05-22 | | A Study of Alkaline Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Zinc-Air BatteriesIn this report, hydrated hydrogels are investigated for application in rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) based on their ionic conductivities, chemical stability, electrochemical windows and mechanical properties. Three different hydrogel networks, i.e., poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(4- vinylbenzenesulfonate-co-[3-(methacryloylamino)propyl]trimethylammonium chloride) (PAM), were chosen based on their chemical composition and network electrical charge difference. Since the hydrogel network affects electrolyte uptake, which in turn may influence conductivity, understanding the correlation between hydrogel species and ionic conductivity provides insight into designing an appropriate gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) for ZABs. The relationship between ionic conductivity, water uptake and temperature are discussed. In ZAB cycling tests, although GPEs have a higher bulk resistance than aqueous electrolytes, they have lower interfacial and charge transfer resistances. The total resistance values for PVA and PAA, with 6 M KOH, vary from 4 - 6 Ω, which are lower than the values for KOH solution (~11 Ω) and PAM with 6 M KOH (~14 Ω). As such, this study demonstrates that GPEs show considerable promise for use as electrolytes in ZABs.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-12-10 | | Colorimetric Voltmeter Using Colloidal Fe3O4@SiO2 Nanoparticles as an Overpotential Alarm System for Zinc-air BatteriesT06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-10-20 | "Lelin Zheng ", Thuy (Wendy) Nguyen Thanh Tran, "Dinara Zhalmuratova ", Ivey, D., Chung, H. | Effects of Crosslinker Concentration in Poly(Acrylic Acid)–KOH Gel Electrolyte on Performance of Zinc–Air BatteriesZinc–air batteries (ZABs) using gel polymer electrolytes suffer from low energy efficiency and poor cyclability. This issue is not only associated with the air electrode, as early failure of the battery is often due to the Zn electrode. Here, the cycle life of ZABs using alkaline poly(acrylic acid) (PAA–KOH) as the electrolyte is shown to vary by changing its crosslinking density. For ZABs using hydrogel electrolytes, understanding the failure mechanism and optimization of the hydrogel composition are key to achieving better utilization of the Zn electrode and battery rechargeability. In addition, the effects of crosslinker concentration on rheological properties, sol–gel fraction, ionic conductivity and water retention ability of the hydrogel are discussed. PAA–KOH gels with lower crosslinking concentrations are weaker, but they have higher conductivity and better water retention, whereas gels with higher crosslinking concentrations affect the diffusion of zincate ions and facilitate passivation of the Zn electrode, resulting in early failure of the battery.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-04-01 | | A Tri–Electrode Configuration for Zinc–Air Batteries Using Gel Polymer ElectrolytesTo increase the cyclability of rechargeable zinc–air batteries (ZABs) using gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs), battery design and structure need to be optimized. Two different configurations for a tri–electrode battery have been developed in this work; i.e., a planar cell and a sandwich cell. Discharge–recharge cycling tests at 5 mA cm–2 show that the sandwich cell is more suitable for ZABs than the planar cell. Various additives for the GPEs, such as cross linking agents and ZnO, have also been evaluated using the tri–electrode design. Cross linking density affects the physical state of GPEs, which in turn affects the oxygen evolution reaction as there is an adverse effect of excessive GPE/Ni foam electrode contact area because oxygen bubble may be trapped in the GPE. The addition of ZnO to the oxygen reduction reaction side of the battery enhances the cycling performance of ZABs; i.e., the battery can withstand at least 100 cycles at 5 mA cm–2 with an efficiency of 62% during the first cycle.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-01-24 | | Compositional Effects of Gel Polymer Electrolyte and Battery Design for Zinc\textendash Air BatteriesPoly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is a promising polymer host to support alkaline electrolytes in Zn-air batteries. Herein, precursors containing different concentrations of monomers, crosslinkers and additives such as zinc oxide in alkaline solution are polymerized to fabricate gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) via one-pot synthesis. The compositional effects of the GPEs on battery performance are evaluated and a more efficient cell design is demonstrated. With a vertical double air electrode configuration, ZABs using PAA-based electrolytes show unprecedented performance including high specific energy (913 Wh kgZn−1), excellent cycling stability (at least 160 cycles at 2×10 mA cm–2) and high power density output (2×135 mW cm−2). The study represents a viable option to replace aqueous electrolytes for high performing ZABs.T06-P03 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-05-01 | Thuy (Wendy) Nguyen Thanh Tran, Drew Aasen, Dinara Zhalmuratova, Matthew Labbe, Chung, H., Ivey, D. |
|
|