Abstract
Although rechargeable zinc-air batteries are one of the promising power sources, the commercialization is hindered by a variety of technical hurdles, especially the low energy efficiency and poor rate capability due to the low discharge voltage. Herein, we report a high-performance composite composed of nanoporous NiO/Ni(OH) 2 plates incorporated with carbon nanotubes. When used as the active material, unlike any single types of zinc-based batteries, the electrochemical reactions in both nickel-zinc and zinc-air batteries are combined. A high voltage of 1.7 V is obtained in the nickel-zinc battery region and a high capacity of over 800 mAh gZn -1 is demonstrated in the zinc-air battery region, attributed to the high pseudocapacitance and excellent activities of NiO/Ni(OH) 2 nanoporous plates and the high electrical conductivity of carbon nanotubes. In addition, the battery can be cycled steadily for over 192 times at 5 mA cm -2 while maintaining the capacity at the energy efficiency of higher than 60%. Moreover, the discharge voltage profile and obtainable capacity remain unchanged even when the charge current density is increased by 8 times (from 2 to 16 mA cm -2 ), demonstrating excellent high-rate charge capability. The results shed light on further explorations of active materials for high-performance rechargeable hybrid batteries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | A2119-A2126 |
Journal | Journal of the Electrochemical Society |
Volume | 165 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2018 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Chemistry