Scientists develop water-based zinc batteries that are safer, powerful and durable than Lithium-ion batteries

The battery explosion worries would be soon be rubbed off as the researchers at University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a groundbreaking technology that could change the way how batteries would be made in the future. These batteries are not only safe but also powerful and rechargeable. 

Published in the high-impact journal Nature Materials, the peer-reviewed paper emphasizes the need for the development of safe, durable and high cycle life batteries that are potential to replace the existing Li-ion batteries. The answer to such demand is the water-based zinc battery, which fulfils all the aforesaid criteria at an affordable price.

How are these water-based Zinc batteries developed:

A group of researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the UMD engineers utilized the old world technology of developing batteries. They combined metallic Zinc with water-in-salt electrolyte. The resultant combination is non-flammable like the organic electrolyte used in making Lithium-ion batteries. The engineers have also overcome the most prevailing problem in the water-based batteries, i.e., low energy density.

The researchers say that the new aqueous-based Zinc battery can not only be used in the consumer electronics but also in harsh environments like aerospace, deep-ocean and military.

Unlike the conventional Zinc batteries which have limited recharge cycles dendrite growth during usage, these water-based Zinc cells delimit to provide more recharge cycles and enhanced durability. The scientists also found out a solution for irreversibility if Zinc batteries. In the conventional batteries, amount of charge a battery can produce at the fixed voltage decreases with usage. The scientists altered the solvation sphere structure of zinc cation, thereby overcoming the obstacle of irreversibility.