Advanced Materials for Aqueous Zinc Ion Battery

Study level

PhD
Master of Philosophy
Honours

Background

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIB) have recently gained significant interest in the race to develop novel, green energy storage devices. This is because ZIBs utilize aqueous electrolytes over non-aqueous electrolytes. Zinc is one of the few metal anodes that are water compatible, allowing them to reap the benefits of aqueous solvents. Not only are these electrolytes eco-friendly and cheaper to produce than their organic counterparts, they also demonstrate significantly higher ionic conductivity. However, there are several components/factors that need to be optimized before the practical application of ZIB. A range of cathode materials, aqueous electrolytes and composite metal anodes needs to be studied in detail to realize a high-performance zinc-ion battery.

Research Activities

  • Synthesis of electrode materials utilizing solvothermal and hydrothermal methods
  • Characterisation of materials using advanced analytical techniques such as TEM, SEM, XRD and XPS
  • Fabrication of button/coin cell batteries using new electrode materials
  • Utilization of electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to test the functionality of batteries.

Outcomes

  • Functional anodes
  • Stable cathode materials
  • Safe aqueous electrolytes
  • And as a result – high-performance zinc ion batteries

Skills and experience

Background in chemistry, physics, materials, mechanical engineering all are welcome.