Utilizing solar energy to improve the oxygen evolution reaction kinetics in zinc–air battery

Xiaorui Liu, Yifei Yuan, Jie Liu, Bin Liu, Xu Chen, Jia Ding, Xiaopeng Han, Yida Deng, Cheng Zhong () and Wenbin Hu ()
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Xiaorui Liu: Tianjin University
Yifei Yuan: University of Illinois at Chicago
Jie Liu: Tianjin University
Bin Liu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xu Chen: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jia Ding: Tianjin University
Xiaopeng Han: Tianjin University
Yida Deng: Tianjin University
Cheng Zhong: Tianjin University
Wenbin Hu: Tianjin University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Directly harvesting solar energy for battery charging represents an ultimate solution toward low-cost, green, efficient and sustainable electrochemical energy storage. Here, we design a sunlight promotion strategy into rechargeable zinc–air battery with significantly reduced charging potential below the theoretical cell voltage of zinc–air batteries. The sunlight-promoted zinc–air battery using BiVO4 or α-Fe2O3 air photoelectrode achieves a record-low charge potential of ~1.20 and ~1.43 V, respectively, under illumination, which is lowered by ~0.5–0.8 V compared to the typical charge voltage of ~2 V in conventional zinc–air battery. The band structure and photoelectrochemical stability of photoelectrodes are found to be key factors determining the charging performance of sunlight-promoted zinc–air batteries. The introduction of photoelectrode as an air electrode opens a facile way for developing integrated single-unit zinc–air batteries that can efficiently use solar energy to overcome the high charging overpotential of conventional zinc–air batteries.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12627-2

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