Fast constructing polarity-switchable zinc-bromine microbatteries with high areal energy density

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Microbatteries (MBs) are crucial for miniaturized electronics but face challenges with complex fabrication and low energy density.
• Existing solid-state cathodes in MBs present a trade-off between areal capacity and reaction kinetics, limiting their applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile fabrication strategy for high-performance microbatteries.
• To achieve high areal energy density and fast kinetics simultaneously in microbatteries.
• To explore novel cathode materials for microscale energy storage.

Main Methods:

• A dual-plating strategy was employed to prepare zinc-bromine microbatteries (Zn-Br2 MBs).
• The strategy utilizes a liquid cathode to overcome limitations of solid-state cathodes.
• The performance of the fabricated MBs was evaluated for energy density and kinetics.

Main Results:

• The developed Zn-Br2 MBs achieved a record high areal energy density of 3.6 mWh cm⁻².
• The MBs demonstrated simultaneously high areal energy density and fast reaction kinetics.
• A polarity-switchable feature was observed, enhancing usability.
• The dual-plating strategy proved adaptable for other systems like Zn-I2 and Zn-MnO2 MBs.

Conclusions:

• The dual-plating strategy offers an effective method for constructing advanced microbatteries.
• This approach significantly enhances areal energy density and kinetic performance in microscale energy storage.
• The developed MBs represent a significant advancement in powering miniaturized electronic devices.