Separator Effect on Zinc Electrodeposition Behavior and Its Implication for Zinc Battery Lifetime

Uncontrolled zinc electrodeposition is an obstacle to long-cycling zinc batteries. Much has been researched on regulating zinc electrodeposition, but rarely are the studies performed in the presence of a separator, as in practical cells. Here, we show that the microstructure of separators determines...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2021-12, Vol.21 (24), p.10446-10452
Main Authors: Zhang, Ye, Yang, Guang, Lehmann, Michelle L, Wu, Chaoshan, Zhao, Lihong, Saito, Tomonori, Liang, Yanliang, Nanda, Jagjit, Yao, Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aqueous battery
Electric Power Supplies
Electrodes
Electroplating
ENERGY STORAGE
nonporous separator
porous separator
Zinc - chemistry
zinc battery
zinc deposition
zinc stripping
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Summary:Uncontrolled zinc electrodeposition is an obstacle to long-cycling zinc batteries. Much has been researched on regulating zinc electrodeposition, but rarely are the studies performed in the presence of a separator, as in practical cells. Here, we show that the microstructure of separators determines the electrodeposition behavior of zinc. Porous separators direct zinc to deposit into their pores and leave “dead zinc” upon stripping. In contrast, a nonporous separator prevents zinc penetration. Such a difference between the two types of separators is distinguished only if caution is taken to preserve the attachment of the separator to the zinc-deposited substrate during the entire electrodeposition–morphological observation process. Failure to adopt such a practice could lead to misinformed conclusions. Our work reveals the mere use of porous separators as a universal yet overlooked challenge for metal anode-based rechargeable batteries. Countermeasures to prevent direct exposure of the metal growth front to a porous structure are suggested.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c03792