Characterization and optimization of a printed, primary silver–zinc battery

• Published in: Journal of power sources 2012-02, Vol.199, p.367-372
• Main Authors: Braam, Kyle T., Volkman, Steven K., Subramanian, Vivek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaline; Applied sciences; Battery; Direct energy conversion and energy accumulation; Electric batteries; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electrical power engineering; Electrochemical conversion: primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Electronic systems; Exact sciences and technology; Impedance spectroscopy; Microorganisms; Primary; Printed battery; silver–zinc; Zinc
• ISSN: 0378-7753; 1873-2755
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.09.076

► Printed silver–zinc primary with PEO electrolyte. ► High energy densities of 4.1 ± 0.3 mWh cm −2 at current densities of 1.8 mA cm −2. ► Impedance spectroscopy modeling of planar battery. The increasing deployment of ubiquitous electronic systems such as distributed sensor networks and RFID tags has resulted in a need for high energy microbatteries. Printed batteries are particularly interesting because of the potential for low material loss, low processing cost, and ease of integration into low-profile flexible electronic systems. We have developed a two-step printing technique to deposit an alkaline electrolyte for a printed silver–zinc battery. The fabricated batteries are characterized with galvanostatic measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy using a three electrode setup with a zinc reference electrode. High silver utilization of 94 ± 3% and an areal energy density of 4.1 ± 0.3 mWh cm −2 are achieved with a 57:29:14 H 2O:KOH:PEO ( M v = 600,000) electrolyte at a C/2 discharge rate 1.8 mA cm −2.