Project description
Zinc batteries electrolyte design cut hydrogen gas and costs
Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising for large-scale energy storage due to their safety, affordability, and high ionic conductivity. Rechargeable anode-free zinc ion batteries (AFZIBs) offer enhanced energy density by eliminating the bulky zinc metal anode, but they face challenges like hydrogen gas evolution during cycling. This arises because the interaction between water and zinc ions weakens water’s O-H bonds, leading to hydrogen release. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the WIZBAT project proposes a solution: localised water-in-salt electrolytes (LWiSEs), which use an inert solvent to reduce salt concentration. This approach aims to eliminate the interaction between water and zinc ion with low salt concentration to balance cost and efficiency.
Objective
Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted tremendous attention for the application in the field of large-scale energy storage devices due to their instinct properties of non-flammability, low-cost and high ionic conductivity of aqueous electrolyte. Rechargeable anode-free zinc ion batteries (AFZIBs) have multiple advantages over its conventional counterpart, especially by removing Zn metal in its initial state, the weight and volume of anode-free cells is significantly reduced, maximizing the energy density of AZIBs. The obstacles impeding practical applications of AFZIBs originated from the H2 evolution during batteries cycling. In a typical zinc-ion battery electrolyte, Zn2+ solvated with six water molecules forms hydrated zinc ion [Zn(H2O)6]2+. Preliminary research implies that H2 evolution primarily originates from solvated water, rather than free water not interacting with Zn2+, since the interaction between H2O and Zn2+ weakens the O-H bond of H2O, leading to deprotonation of the solvated water. Water-in-salt electrolytes (WiSEs) can prevent the formation of hydrated zinc ions ([Zn(H2O)6]2+), thus, suppressing H2 evolution. However, in such case, boosted electrochemical performance is achieved only at high costs because a large quantity of expensive fluorinated salts is used in electrolyte. In this project, we aim to lower the WiSE salt concentration by diluting the electrolytes with an inert solvent (called a diluent) that dissolves the water but not the salt. Therefore, the diluent does not alter the salt solvation structure of WiEs, forming a localized water-in-salt electrolyte (LWiSE). The as-designed LWiSE is expected to have the same effect as WiSE regarding H2 evolution suppression but is comparable to the conventional dilute aqueous electrolyte in terms of production cost and eco-friendliness. The as-designed LWiSE will be finally demonstrated in different prototypes, from lab-scale coin cells to industry large-scale pouch cells.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.