The United States has developed a potential alternative to lithium batteries

Researchers in the United States have developed a rechargeable water-based zinc battery that is not only large in capacity, long in life, but also safer and is expected to be an ideal alternative to lithium batteries that are currently widely used.

For batteries, small size, large capacity, long life, high safety, and low manufacturing costs are ideal quality requirements, but batteries that combine these characteristics are currently difficult to find. Take lithium batteries widely used in consumer electronics. Although they can be used in terms of capacity, volume, and life span, their explosion risk has caused many people to criticize.

This time, a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, the Army Research Laboratory, and the National Standards and Technology Research Institute combined traditional zinc battery technology with water battery technology to develop more high-capacity and safer rechargeable batteries. They use new water-containing electrolytes to replace flammable organic electrolytes used in traditional lithium ion batteries, which greatly improves the safety of batteries; By adding zinc metal and adding salt to the electrolyte, the energy density of the battery is effectively increased.

Zinc batteries are safe and relatively inexpensive to produce, but are not perfect because of their low energy density and short life spans, the researchers said. The new water-based zinc battery has overcome these shortcomings of the traditional zinc battery, which not only greatly improves the energy density of the battery, but also extends the battery life. Compared with lithium batteries, water-based zinc batteries can not only be relatively high in energy density, but also much safer, and there is no risk of explosion or fire.

Researchers are confident of the commercial prospects of new hydro-based zinc batteries. They said the new batteries could eventually be used not only for consumer electronics but also as powerful competitors for lithium-ion batteries. They could also be used in extreme environments, such as space and the deep sea, and could be useful inspecial, deep-sea exploration and the military.

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