Japanese Researchers Develop All-solid-state Air Battery
The research team of Yamanashi University and Waseda University in Japan has developed an all-solid-state air battery that uses a proton exchange membrane as an electrolyte and an organic substance with redox activity as a negative electrode. This kind of battery can be charged and discharged repeatedly, is light and safe, and can also be used in a bent state. It is expected to be used in portable electronic devices.
According to a communiqué jointly issued by Yamanashi University and Waseda University recently, common air batteries are generally composed of oxygen in the air as the positive electrode active material, lithium and other metals as the negative electrode active material, and an aqueous electrolyte. Air batteries theoretically have a higher energy density because there is no need to store positive active materials inside the battery. However, the existing air batteries mostly use solution electrolytes, which may cause safety problems such as electrolyte leakage. In addition, metals used as anodes are prone to performance degradation under the action of oxygen and moisture in the environment.
In order to solve the above problems, the researchers of the two universities cooperated to try to use the organic compound 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone with redox activity and the polymer of the compound as the negative electrode active material of the battery, the proton exchange membrane is used as the electrolyte, the gas diffusion electrode containing platinum catalyst is used as the positive electrode, and the active substance is oxygen, so as to form an all-solid air battery.
Through the measurement of current and potential, the researchers confirmed the reaction and its reversibility of the negative electrode of the battery, and evaluated the discharge rate and charge-discharge cycle performance of the battery. Studies have shown that it is a feasible idea to use organic compounds with redox activity as the anode of air batteries. Compared with using 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone as the negative electrode of the battery, using the polymer of the compound as the negative electrode can significantly improve the battery discharge capacity. At a discharge rate of 15C, the charge-discharge cycles of the all-solid air battery using 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone polymer as the negative electrode can reach 30 times.
Related papers have been published in the German academic journal "Applied Chemistry International Edition".
The bulletin said that compared with the current common air batteries, this new type of all-solid-state air battery is safer, and the materials used do not contain moisture, and the performance of the electrodes will not be degraded due to moisture. In the future, by improving material properties and improving durability, this battery is expected to be used as a power source for mobile phones and other portable electronic devices.