Zinc air batteries have great promise as a new age energy storage device due to their environmental benignity, high energy density in terms of both mass and volume, and low cost Zinc air batteries get their high energy density by using oxygen from the air as the active material. This means that all the mass and volume that are normally required for active material in a battery are replaced by a thin gas diffusion electrode which allows for oxygen from the air to diffuse into the cell. Although this seems ideal, there are many technical challenges associated with the cell being open to the atmosphere. Some of these issues include electrolyte and electrode drying out, poor reaction kinetics involving sluggish reaction, the need for bifunctional catalysts to charge and discharge, and durability of the gas diffusion electrode itself. The bifuntional catalysts used in these systems are often platinum or other precious metals since these are commonly known to have the highest performance, however the inherent cost of these materials limits the feasibility of zinc air systems. Thus, there is a need to limit or remove the necessity for platinum carbon catalysts. There are many types of non precious metal catalysts which can be used in place of platinum, however their performance is often not as high, and the durability of these catalysts is also weak. Similar limitations on feasibility are invoked by the poor durability of the gas diffusion electrodes. Carbon corrosion occurs at the harsh caustic conditions present at the gas diffusion electrodes, and this corrosion causes catalyst dissolution. Moreover, many issues with zinc electrode fabrication limit durability and usable anode surface area within these systems. There is a need for a stable, porous, high surface area anode with good structural integrity. These issues are addressed in this work by three studies which each focuses on solving some of the issues pertaining to a crucial component of zinc air batteries, those being the gas diffusion electrode, the zinc electrode, and the bifunctional catalyst necessary for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER). The first study addresses the need for improvements to the zinc anode electrode. A new process is proposed for the production of porous zinc electrodes in which the porosity can be easily controlled. This process involves the mixing of atomized zinc powder with a filler compound such as ammonium chloride. The mixture is then pressed into a pellet and heat treated to a temperature which simultaneously sublimes/decomposes the filler compound, and anneals the zinc structure to improve structural integrity. The resultant porous anode showed significantly charge and discharge potentials over the solid plate anode, while allowing for increased control of porosity over other porous electrodes due to the ability to adjust pore size based on the filler compound particle size. The discharge potentials observed from these porous anodes were 20% greater than zinc plate anodes at 100mA, but up to 200% greater at elevated currents of 200mA. Similarly the charging potentials were 53.8% lower at 100mA, and 55.5% lower at 200mA., suggesting greatly improved performance by the porous anode. The second study addresses the need for more durable gas diffusion electrodes. In this study, the bifunctional catalyst was bound directly to a stainless steel current collector via polymer binding in an attempt to remove the possibility of carbon corrosion and catalyst dissolution. The new gas diffusion electrode was successful in eliminating carbon corrosion, wherein, the durability of cells which incorporate this type of electrode was significantly increased. The durability of cell was increased to a point where little to no degradation occurred over 1000 cycles of full cell testing, showing great promise for future use and commercial viability. The final study addresses the need for durable and high performance non precious metal catalysts. The effects of catalyst morphology were studied wherein various morphologies of spinel type cobalt oxide were synthesized and compared. Cobalt oxide nanosheets were successfully synthesized and compared to nanoparticles of comparable size. The cobalt oxide nanosheets showed better charge and discharge potentials as well as durability of the nanoparticles. Impedance analyses showed reduced charge transfer and cell component resistances associated with the nanosheet morphology. Cobalt oxide nanosheets were further compared against platinum carbon. Cobalt oxide nanosheets showed significantly better durability as well as lower charging potentials and higher discharge potentials over 75 cycles. After 75 cycles the platinum carbon had lost 55.7% of its discharge potential wherein cobalt oxide nanosheets lost none of its discharge potential. Three issues pertaining to three major cell components a zinc air were addressed with promising solutions proposed for each. This work provides a basis for advanced zinc electrode fabrication in which further improvements can be incorporated to address other issues pertaining to zinc electrode use. This work set up a basis for electrode design which focuses on non carbon supported catalysts, eliminating the issue of carbon corrosion and associated catalyst dissolution. Finally, the results from the morphology study elucidate the benefits of controlled morphology for bifunctional catalysts, showing how morphology can be adjusted to improve performance by improving cell and charge transfer resistances.

The ever-increasing energy consumption and the environmental issues from the excessive rely on fossil fuels have triggered intensive research on the next generation power sources. Metal-air batteries, as one of the most promising technologies emerged, have attracted enormous attention due to its low cost, environmental benignity and high energy density. Among all types of metal-air batteries, Zn-air batteries in particular have tremendous potential for use as alternative energy storage primarily by the low-cost, abundance, low equilibrium potential, environmental benignity, a flat discharge voltage and a longer shell life. However, there are still issues in pertinent to the anode, electrolyte and cathode that remain to be overcome. In particular, the electrocatalyst at the cathode of a metal-air battery which catalyzes the electrochemistry reactions during charge and discharge of the cell plays the most crucial role for the successful commercialization of the metal-air technology. A series of studies from the carbon nanofibres to spinel cobalt oxide and perovskite lanthanum nickelate was conducted to explore the ORR/OER catalytic properties of those materials which lead to further investigations of the non-precious metal oxide/carbon hybrids as bifunctional catalysts. Introducing ORR active species such as nitrogen, sulfur, boron and phosphorus into high surface area carbon has been an effective strategy to fabricate high catalytic activity ORR electrocatalyst. Carbon nanofibre is an abundant, low cost and conductive material that has tremendous potential as ORR catalyst, especially via KOH activation and nitrogen-doping post-treatments. These two post-treatment methods serve as simplistic methodologies to enhance the carbon surface area and ORR catalytic activity of the pristine carbon nanofibres, respectively. The activated and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibres demonstrated 26% of improved half-wave potential and 17% of increased limiting current density as a comparison to the pristine carbon nanofibre via RDE testing in alkaline electrolyte. To realize the catalytic activity of activated and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibres in a more practical condition, they are further evaluated in Zn-air batteries. Polarization curves retrieved from Zn-air cell testing showed 75% higher voltage obtained by activated and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibres than pristine carbon nanofibres at 70mAcm-2 current density. Structured oxides such as spinels and perovskites have been widely reported as ORR and OER catalyst in metal-air batteries. It is widely known that the properties of nanostructures are closely pertinent to their morphologies. The initial performance and durability of cubic Co3O4 synthesized from Feng et al and LaNiO3 from modified sol-gel method are tested in RDE system. After the durability testing, the ORR onset potential and limiting current density of cubic Co3O4 has decreased by 50% and 25%, respectively, whereas the OER limiting current density dropped significantly from ~15mAcm2 to almost zero current density. LaNiO3 with different particle sizes synthesized from modified sol-gel method was prepared and evaluated in RDE system. A particle size related performance can be clearly seen from the RDE results. The ORR limiting current of the lanthanum nickelate with smaller particle size (LNO-1) is higher than that of lanthanum nickelate with larger particle size (LNO-0) by 40% and the OER limiting current of LNO-1 is almost tripled that of LNO-0. With the previous experience on carbon material and structured oxides, two hybrid bifunctional catalysts were prepared and their performance was evaluated. cCo3O4/ExNG was made by physically mixing of cCo3O4 with ExNG with 1to 1 ratio. The hybrid showed enhanced bifunctional catalytic activities compared to each of its individual performance. Based on the voltammetry results, a significant positive shift (+0.16V) in ORR half-wave potential and tripled limiting current were observed in the case of the hybrid compared to the pure cobalt oxide. By combing cCo3O4 and ExNG, the OER limiting current of the hybrid exceeds that of cCo3O4 by ca. 33% and four-fold that of the ExNG. The kinetic current density at -0.4V for cCo3O4/ExNG is 15.9 mAcm-2 which is roughly 4 times the kinetic current density of the ExNG (3.8 mAcm-2) and over 10 times greater than that of cCo3O4 (1.1 mAcm-2). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the charge transfer resistance of the hybrid is ca. one third of cCo3O4 and roughly only one half of ExNG which suggests a more efficient electrocatalysis of the hybrid on the air electrode than the other two. Mixing structured oxides with carbon material provides a simple method of fabricating bifunctional catalysts, however the interactions between those two materials are quite limited. In-situ synthesis of cCo3O4/MWCNT hybrid by chemically attaching cCo3O4to the acid-functionalized MWCNT is able to provide strong interactions between its components. Through RDE testing, the ORR activity of cCo3O4/MWCNT outperformed its individual component showing the highest onset potential (-0.15V) and current density (-2.91 mAcm-2 at -0.4V) with ~4 electron transfer pathway. Moreover, the MWCNT and cCo3O4 suffered from significant OER degradation after cycling (92% and 94%, respectively) whereas the hybrid material demonstrated an outstanding stability with only 15% of performance decrease, which is also far more superior to the physical mixture (30% higher current density). Among all the catalyst studied, cCo3O4/MWCNT has the highest performance and durability. The excellent performance of the hybrid warrants further in-depth research of non-precious metal oxide/carbon hybrids and the information presented in this thesis will create afoundation for future investigation towards high performance and durability bifunctional electrocatalysts for metal-air battery applications.

Zinc air batteries are among the most promising energy storage devices due to their high energy density, low cost and environmental friendliness. The low mass and cost of zinc air batteries is a result of traditional active materials replacement with a thin gas diffusion layer which allows the battery to use the oxygen directly from the air. Despite the environmental and electronic advantages offered by this system, challenges related to drying the electrolyte and catalyst, determining a high activity bifictional catalyst, and ensuring durability of the gas diffusion layer need to be optimized during the fabrication of rechargeable zinc-air batteries. To date, platinum on carbon (Pt/C) provides the best electrochemical catalytic activity in acidic and alkaline electrolytes. However, the difficult acquisition and high cost of this catalyst mandates investigation into a new composition or synthesis of a bifunctional catalyst. A number of non-precious metal catalyst have been introduced for zinc-air batteries. Nevertheless, their catalytic activities and durability are still too low for commercial rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Thus, it is very important to synthesize a highly active bifunctional catalyst with good durability for long term charge and discharge use. In this study, it is proposed that a manganese-based perovskite oxide nanoparticle combined with nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes willshow promising electrochemical activity with remarkable cycle stability as a bifunctional catalyst for zinc-air batteries. In the first part of this work, nano-sized LaMnO3 and LaMn0.9Co0.1O3 were prepared to research the effectiveness of Co doping into LaMnO3 and its effect on electrochemical catalytic activities. To prepare LaMnO3 and LaMn0.9Co0.1O3, a hydrothermal reaction method was applied to synthesize nanoparticles which can increase the activity of perovskite type oxides. The result shows that while perovskite oxides replacing 10 wt. % of Mn doped with Co metal did not iv change its crystalline structure, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance was increased by 600%. In the second part, a core-corona structured bifunctional catalyst (CCBC) was synthesized by combining LaMn0.9Co0.1O3 nanoparticles with nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (NCNT). NCNT was chosen because of its large surface area and high catalytic activity for ORR. SEM and TEM analysis show that metal oxide nanoparticles were surrounded with nanotubes. Based on the electrochemical performances, ORR and OER activity is attributed to NCNT and the metal oxide core, respectively, complementing the activities of each other. Furthermore, its unique morphology introduces synergetic activity especially for OER. Electrochemical test results show that the onset potential was enhanced from -0.2 V (in LaMnO3 and LaMn0.9Co0.1O3) to -0.09 V (in CCBC) and the half wave potential was improved from -0.38 V to -0.19 V. In the third part, a single cell zinc-air battery test was performed using CCBC as the bifunctional catalyst for the air electrode. These results were compared with battery performance against a high-performance and expensive Pt/C based air catalyst. The results show that the battery containing catalytic CCBC consumes less energy during charge/discharge. The single cell long-term durability performance was compared, further proving that CCBC provides a more suitable catalyst for zinc-air battery than Pt/C.

Différentes membranes conductrices anioniques ont été développées pour protéger une électrode à air fonctionnant dans une batterie Zinc-Air alimentée par de l’air ambiant. Dans ces conditions, le dioxyde de carbone contenu dans l’air, en contact avec l’électrolyte basique, se transforme en carbonate de potassium qui précipite dans la structure poreuse de l’électrode. Cela provoque l’augmentation de sa résistance et la perte de son étanchéité, et l’électrode n’est alors stable que 80 heures. L’objectif de cette étude est donc de rendre stable une électrode à air pendant 3000 heures de fonctionnement.Pour cela, différents réseaux (semi-)interpénétrés de polymères ont donc été développés en associant un polyélectrolyte et un réseau partenaire neutre. La polyépichlorhydrine greffée avec du 1,4-diazabicyclo(2,2,2)octane et un polyélectrolyte fluoré ont été choisis comme polymère conducteur anionique. Des réseaux neutres à base de poly(méthacrylate de 2-hydroxyéthyle), d’alcool polyvinylique et de perfluoropolyéther leur ont été, tour à tour, associés. Les propriétés physico-chimiques des différentes membranes développées ont été caractérisées selon leur densité de charges et leur composition. Les membranes présentant les meilleures propriétés requises (conductivité anionique, prise en masse limitée, sélectivité, …) ont ensuite été assemblées sur des électrodes à air dont le potentiel et la stabilité ont été évalués au cours du fonctionnement en demi-cellule. Ainsi, une électrode à air modifiée avec de telles membranes peut présenter un potentiel stable pendant 6800 heures de fonctionnement à -30mA/cm². / Different anionic conducting membranes have been developed to protect an air electrode operating in a Zinc-Air battery fed with ambient air. Under those conditions, carbon dioxide from atmospheric air reacts with the alkaline electrolyte, and is then transformed into potassium carbonate. The precipitate of this carbonate inside the electrode porous structure leads to the increase of the system resistance and the loss of its sealing after 80 h of operation. The objective of this study focuses on the improvement of the stability of an air electrode for 3000 h of operation, by protecting it from carbonation reaction with a polymer membrane.For this, different (semi-)interpenetrating polymer networks have therefore been developed combining a polyelectrolyte and a neutral network partner. Polyepichlorohydrin grafted with 1,4-diazabicyclo (2,2,2) octane and a fluorinated polyelectrolyte were chosen as anionic conductive polymer. Neutral networks based on poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), polyvinyl alcohol and perfluoropolyether were then, alternately, associated to the polyelectrolyte. The physico-chemical properties of the various developed membranes were characterized according to their charge density and composition. The membranes with the best required properties (anionic conductivity, limited weight uptake, selectivity ...) were then assembled on air electrodes whose potential and stability have been evaluated during the operation in half-cell. Thus, an air electrode modified with such membranes maintains a stable potential during 6800 hours of running at -30mA / cm².

Thesis (M. Tech. Engineering: Electrical--Vaal University of Technology) / The air-breathing Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) and Zinc Air Fuel Cell (ZAFC)were experimentally studied in a climate chamber in order to investigate the impact of climatic environmental parameters such as varying temperature and relative humidity conditions on their performance. The experimental results presented in the form of polarization curves and discharge characteristic curves indicated that these parameters have a significant effect on the performance of these fuel cells. The results showed that temperature levels below 0ºc are not suitable for the operation of these fuel cells. Instead, it was found that air-breathing DMFC is favored by high temperature conditions while both positive and negative effects were noticed for the air-breathing ZAFC. The results of the varying humidity conditions showed a negative impact on the air-breathing DMFC at a lower temperature level but a performance increase was noticed at a higher temperature level. For air-breathing ZAFC, the effect of humidity on the performance was also found to be influence by the operating temperature. Furthermore, common atmospheric air pollutants such as N20, S02, CO and N02 were experimentally investigated on the air-breathing DMFC and ZAFC. At the concentration of 20 ppm, these air contaminants showed to have a negative effect on the performance of both air-breathing DMFC and ZAFC. For both air-breathing DMFC and ZAFC, performance degradations were found to be irreversible. It is therefore evident from this research that the performance of the air-breathing fuel cell will be affected in an application situated in a highly air-polluted area such as Vaal Triangle or Southern Durban. It is recommended the air-breathing fuel cell design include air filters to counter the day-to-day variations in concentration of air pollutants.

M. Tech. (Electrical, Applied Electronics and Electronic Communication, Faculty of Engineering and Technology) Vaal University of Technology| / The demand for efficient and environmentally friendly power sources has become a major topic around the world. This research explores the capability of the zinc-air fuel cell to replace conventional power sources for various applications, more specifically telecommunication systems. The research consisted of a theoretical study of the zinc-air fuel cell and its components, as well as their performance characteristics. A zinc-air fuel ce.ll and test rig were built, and the system was tested under various conditions. It was found that the zinc-air fuel cell has an advantage over other fuel cells in that it does not require any expensive materials or noble metals, reducing the overall cost of such a system. The fuel cell showed the potential to power various applications, but problems persisted in the fueling process as well as constant leaking of the aqueous electrolyte.

The power requirement for the soldier's equipment is largely supplied by batteries. Situational awareness is critical for a soldier to perform his tasks. Therefore the radio used by the soldier is a key element in situational awareness and also consumes the most power. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) uses the A43 tactical radio specifically designed for them. The radios are regarded as old technology but will be in use for about another five years. The radios still use non-rechargeable alkaline batteries which do not last very long and are not cost effective. The purpose of this study is to research the new generation secondary batteries as a possible replacement for the alkaline battery packs. The new generation batteries investigated in this study are the latest rechargeable batteries, also called secondary batteries. They include nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, rechargeable alkaline manganese and zinc air. The main features of rechargeable cells are covered and the cell characteristics are defined to allow the technology to be matched to the user requirement. Li-ion technology was found to be the best choice. This research also showed that international trends in battery usage are towards Li-ion. A new Li-ion battery was designed based on commercial cells. Tests showed that commercial Li-ion cells can be used in the radio and that they outperform the current battery by far. The study also examined the design of a New Generation Battery System consisting of an intelligent battery, a charger which uses a Systems Management Bus and a battery 'state of health" analyser to assist the user to maintain the batteries. Tests were done to demonstrate that the battery can withstand typical military environmental conditions. Expected military missions for a battery system were defined and used to compare the cost between the existing batteries and the new batteries system. Important usage factors which will influence the client when using a New Generation Battery System were addressed. To summarise, this study showed that by using a New Generation Battery System, the SANDF could relieve the operational cost of the A43 radio while saving on weight and enabling the soldier to carry out longer missions. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electronical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The power requirement for the soldier's equipment is largely supplied by batteries. Situational awareness is critical for a soldier to perform his tasks. Therefore the radio used by the soldier is a key element in situational awareness and also consumes the most power. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) uses the A43 tactical radio specifically designed for them. The radios are regarded as old technology but will be in use for about another five years. The radios still use non-rechargeable alkaline batteries which do not last very long and are not cost effective. The purpose of this study is to research the new generation secondary batteries as a possible replacement for the alkaline battery packs. The new generation batteries investigated in this study are the latest rechargeable batteries, also called secondary batteries. They include nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, rechargeable alkaline manganese and zinc air. The main features of rechargeable cells are covered and the cell characteristics are defined to allow the technology to be matched to the user requirement. Li-ion technology was found to be the best choice. This research also showed that international trends in battery usage are towards Li-ion. A new Li-ion battery was designed based on commercial cells. Tests showed that commercial Li-ion cells can be used in the radio and that they outperform the current battery by far. The study also examined the design of a New Generation Battery System consisting of an intelligent battery, a charger which uses a Systems Management Bus and a battery 'state of health" analyser to assist the user to maintain the batteries. Tests were done to demonstrate that the battery can withstand typical military environmental conditions. Expected military missions for a battery system were defined and used to compare the cost between the existing batteries and the new batteries system. Important usage factors which will influence the client when using a New Generation Battery System were addressed. To summarise, this study showed that by using a New Generation Battery System, the SANDF could relieve the operational cost of the A43 radio while saving on weight and enabling the soldier to carry out longer missions. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electronical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

abstract: The work presented in this thesis covers the synthesis and characterization of an ionomer that is applicable to zinc-air batteries. Polysulfone polymer is first chloromethylated and then quaternized to create an ion-conducting polymer. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra indicates that the degree of chloromethylation was 114%. The chemical and physical properties that were investigated include: the ionic conductivity, ion exchange capacity, water retention capacity, diameter and thickness swelling ratios, porosity, glass transition temperature, ionic conductivity enhanced by free salt addition, and the concentration and diffusivity of oxygen within the ionomer. It was found that the fully hydrated hydroxide form of the ionomer had a room temperature ionic conductivity of 39.92mS/cm while the chloride form had a room temperature ionic conductivity of 11.80mS/cm. The ion exchange capacity of the ionomer was found to be 1.022mmol/g. The water retention capacity (WRC) of the hydroxide form was found to be 172.6% while the chloride form had a WRC of 67.9%. The hydroxide form of the ionomer had a diameter swelling ratio of 34% and a thickness swelling ratio of 55%. The chloride form had a diameter swelling ratio of 32% and a thickness swelling ratio of 28%. The largest pore size in the ionomer was found to be 32.6nm in diameter. The glass transition temperature of the ionomer is speculated to be 344°C. A definite measurement could not be made. The room temperature ionic conductivity at 50% relative humidity was improved to 12.90mS/cm with the addition of 80% free salt. The concentration and diffusivity of oxygen in the ionomer was found to be 1.3 ±0.2mMol and (0.49 ±0.15)x10-5 cm2/s respectively. The ionomer synthesized in this research had material properties and performance that is comparable to other ionomers reported in the literature. This is an indication that this ionomer is suitable for further study and integration into a zinc-air battery. This thesis is concluded with suggestions for future research that is focused on improving the performance of the ionomer as well as improving the methodology. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Materials Science and Engineering 2012

The diploma thesis is focused on the study of the influence of selected organic additives on the properties and morphology of zinc deposit on the negative electrode when used in zinc-air accumulators. Organic additives have been selected based on the study of literature and previously done experiments. The deposition was made on the tin plate electrodes in a solution of 6 mol/l KOH saturated with ZnO with added additives. All chosen additives were studied with a focus on the morphology of zinc deposit and with regard to their ability to suppress dendritic growth. Zinc morphology was studied by using a Tescan Vega 3 electron microscope and a Rigaku MiniFlex HR 600 X-ray diffractometer.