A H₂O₂ Self-Charging Zinc Battery with Ultrafast Power Generation and Storage

Self-charging power systems are considered as promising alternatives for off-grid energy devices to provide sustained electricity supply. However, the conventional self-charging systems are severely restricted by the energy availability and time-consuming charging process as well as insufficient capacity. Herein, we developed an ultrafast H₂O₂ self-charging aqueous Zn/NaFeFe(CN)₆ battery, which simultaneously integrates the H₂O₂ power generation and energy storage into a battery configuration. In such battery, the chemical energy conversion of H₂O₂ can generate electrical energy to self-charge the battery to 1.7 V through the redox reaction between H₂O₂ and NaFeFe(CN)₆ cathode. The thermodynamically and kinetically favorable redox reaction contributes to the ultrafast H₂O₂ self-charging rate and the extremely short self-charging time within 60 seconds. Moreover, the rapid H₂O₂ power generation can promptly compensate the energy consumption of battery to provide continuous electricity supply. Impressively, this self-charging battery shows excellent scalability of device architecture and can be designed to a H₂O₂ single-flow battery of 7.06 Ah to extend the long-term energy supply. This work not only provides a route to design self-charging batteries with fast charging rate and high capacity, but also pushes forward the development of self-charging power systems for advanced large-scale energy storage applications.