A team of scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, including two Egyptian researchers, has developed a zinc-air battery that can be recharged and used.

The study was published in the journal "Advanced Energy Materials", and occupied the cover of the journal edition that was published on January 27 of last year.

The two Egyptian researchers are Dr. Maher Al-Qadi, who is an assistant research professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, and Dr. Nahla Mohamed, who is currently a teacher in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, and a researcher at the University of California.

Maher Al-Qadi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California (communication sites)

list obstacles

Batteries are divided into two types in terms of their rechargability: Primary batteries, which are used for one time and cannot be recharged. Examples include alkaline batteries that are used in some electronic devices and wristwatches.

The other type is secondary batteries that can be recharged, such as lead batteries, nickel batteries, and lithium-ion batteries found in cell phones and electric cars.

Today's industry leaders rely mainly on lithium batteries.

Al-Qadi notes - in an audio message with Al-Jazeera Net - that "the global stockpile of lithium is currently estimated at 20 million tons, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the global market, which today is witnessing a steady increase in the need for environmentally friendly, highly efficient and inexpensive batteries." .

In addition, the judge states that "the process of mining and extracting lithium is very expensive," which makes it expensive to rely on it as a primary source to meet the growing global demand for lithium batteries.

Therefore, research has turned to another type of battery that uses zinc, known as zinc-air batteries.

These batteries produce electricity through a chemical reaction between zinc and oxygen from the air.

Secondary batteries can be recharged, such as lead batteries, nickel-metal batteries, and lithium-ion batteries (Rubixel).

Zinc batteries are safe and inexpensive

Scientists recommend zinc batteries to be the next generation of batteries that can meet the growing demand for electric cars, instead of lithium-ion batteries, as zinc batteries provide all the characteristics required in the next generation of secondary batteries, such as producing high energy density.

In this regard, Al-Qadi notes that "zinc batteries provide almost twice as much energy as lithium batteries of the same size."

The risk of explosion of zinc batteries is much lower compared to lithium batteries, and it does not emit pollutants that harm the environment.

Al-Qadi commented on the suitability of zinc batteries for use, saying that they "depend on aqueous solutions, which makes them completely safe and non-flammable, as is the case with lithium batteries."

In addition, zinc is an abundant element in nature, and its extraction is inexpensive compared to lithium.

However, there is a major dilemma that zinc batteries cannot be recharged and then reused.

The chemical reactions that occur at the electrodes of the battery are the decisive factor that limits the reuse of this type of battery.

When the ions move from the positive pole of the battery to its negative pole, passing through the aqueous solution, they interact with zinc at the negative pole, generating an electric charge, which produces energy.

The new catalyst is more stable and inexpensive (Shutterstock)

overcoming single use

With repeated use, the amount of zinc present at the negative electrode is consumed, knowing that these reactions are non-electrochemical irreversible reactions, except in the presence of a strong catalyst, which stops the flow of chemical reactions between the electrodes of the battery.

For a rechargeable battery, scientists must be able to induce a reversal of these reactions, and then recover spent zinc.

Among the best catalysts that scientists use in zinc batteries today is the one that depends on "platinum and ruthenium oxide".

Platinum and ruthenium are precious metals that are too expensive (they belong to the platinum group), which makes them unworthy of use on a larger industrial scale.

And the study team found - through standard durability tests - that this catalyst degrades after 18 hours of battery use.

So, the team used another catalyst - nickel-cobalt-iron (Ni-Co-Fe) - which enabled the battery to work for up to 220 hours.

El-Kady notes that "the new catalyst is more stable and stable. It is also inexpensive."

In addition, this allowed a greater number of times of charge and discharge of the battery, reaching 1300 times, which is twice the number of charge and discharge times of lithium-ion batteries.

Hence, these results promise to open new horizons for zinc-air batteries that are less expensive, safer, and compatible with recharging and use.