To address the short cycle life of existing zinc-ion batteries ("zinc batteries"), researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) added a rare earth compound, cerium chloride (CeCl3), as a modifier to the zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) electrolyte. This significantly improved the actual capacity, cycle stability, and operating life of the zinc battery.
As we all know, achieving the goals of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality" has become a global focus and issue. Consequently, increasing the green development and efficient use of renewable energy has become a global consensus. Vigorously developing green and safe large-scale energy storage technologies is essential technical support for the full development and utilization of renewable energy.
As one of the most important new energy storage devices, zinc-ion batteries are favored by electrochemical energy storage researchers due to their large theoretical capacity, high hydrogen evolution overpotential, low production cost, good safety, and environmental friendliness. However, metallic zinc anode materials can produce dendrites, corrosion, hydrogen evolution, and surface passivation in the electrolyte, resulting in poor reversibility and severely impacting the battery's service life. With this in mind, researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology used cerium chloride as an additive in zinc sulfate electrolytes. Experiments have shown that the CeCl3 additive helps form a dynamic electrostatic shielding layer on the zinc anode surface, thereby achieving dense metallic zinc deposition. The CeCl3 additive also effectively inhibits zinc dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reactions. Overall, electrolytes containing CeCl3 additives can improve the overall performance of zinc-ion batteries, primarily in terms of longer battery life and higher energy density.