Researchers from The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia has discovered a simple way to extending the service life of batteries water-based.
It turned out that water imperceptibly reduced battery performance, but zinc sulfate ZnSO4 stabilized the structure of water, stopped harmful chemical reactions, and extended the life of the water battery by 10 times. One of the key factors affecting battery life is the anode, where chemical reactions take place to generate and store energy.
Accompanying negative chemical reactions can damage the anode and reduce battery life. The study results showed, that free water molecules play an important role in the occurrence of these negative chemical reactions. Zinc sulfate helps to limit the presence of free water, reducing its ability to damage the anode.
Free water contains molecules that do not have strong bonds with other molecules. Because of this, water molecules interact with more other molecules, triggering unwanted reactions that consume energy and destroy the anode. At the same time, zinc sulfate acts as an adhesive, stabilizing free water molecules, changing their dynamics and reducing the number of negative chemical reactions.
Although the vast majority of experiments have been conducted on batteries using zinc sulfate, previous studies have shown that sulfate has the same effect on other metal anodes, which suggests that the inclusion of sulfate salts in the battery design could be a universal solution to extend the service life of all water batteries.
“Sulfate salts are cheap, widely available, and chemically stable, which makes our solution scientifically and economically viable”, — explains the researcher KAUST Yunpei Zhu.
Water batteries are gaining increasing attention around the world as a sustainable solution for large-scale energy storage, and the market is projected to exceed $10 billion by 2030. Unlike lithium batteries, which are often used in electric vehicles, water batteries offer a safer and more sustainable option for integrating renewable energy sources such as solar energy into the electricity grid.
The results of the study are published in the journal Science Advances
Source: SciTechDaily
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