(669e) Long-Life Rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery in Lean-Electrolyte Cell Configuration

Zinc-air battery possesses similar energy density as lithium-sulfur battery, and uses compatible with non-flammable aqueous electrolyte. Primary zinc-air batteries have long been used for electronic devices requiring extremely high energy density (e.g. hearing aid). However, rechargeable zinc-air batteries have not been successful, limiting their applications in larger markets such as cell phones, laptops, and electric vehicles. In addition, most attempts on rechargeable zinc-air batteries are made using excess-electrolyte cell configuration (aka, beaker cells). In this presentation, I will talk about our recent effort towards making rechargeable zinc-air battery, in lean-electrolyte cell configuration, which is required for practical application. We used a combination of in operando imaging, material engineering, and device engineering to understand and address the challenges.