Aqueous battery

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Do not carry lithium-ion assumptions into every chemistry.

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Aqueous zinc-ion battery

A rechargeable cell with a zinc-metal negative and mildly acidic zinc sulfate electrolyte, in which Zn²⁺ ions and protons insert into a manganese oxide or vanadium oxide positive. It is cheap, non-flammable and runs at about 1.3–1.5 V, aimed at stationary storage; dendrites, hydrogen evolution and dissolution of the positive limit cycle life.

Electrochemical stability window

The potential range within which an electrolyte is neither reduced nor oxidised. Carbonate electrolytes are only stable from about 1 V to 4.3 V vs Li/Li⁺; graphite operates below that, which is why the SEI, not thermodynamics, keeps the cell alive.

Flammability

The property that makes lithium-ion fires hard to fight: the carbonate solvents have flash points near room temperature, and the positive electrode releases its own oxygen when hot, so the fire does not need air. Solid and non-flammable electrolytes aim to remove this.

High-concentration electrolyte

An electrolyte with so much salt, often 3–5 mol/L instead of the usual 1, that nearly every solvent molecule is bound to a lithium ion. Anions then decompose first and build a robust inorganic interphase, and oxidation stability rises. Viscosity and cost are high, so localised versions dilute it with a non-solvating fluorinated ether that keeps the clustered solvation structure.

Lead–acid battery

The oldest rechargeable chemistry, lead and lead dioxide electrodes in sulfuric acid, at 2 V per cell. Heavy and short-lived in deep cycling but cheap, recyclable and good at cold cranking, it still starts most cars and backs up most telecom sites.

Nickel–metal hydride battery

A 1.2 V aqueous cell with a nickel hydroxide positive electrode and a hydrogen-absorbing alloy negative. It powered hybrid cars for two decades and is tolerant of abuse, but lithium-ion stores two to three times more energy per kilogram.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

1. Promise and reality of post-lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities

   Jang Wook Choi, Doron Aurbach · Nature Reviews Materials · 2016

   Topic background · Post-lithium-ion materials and battery concepts, including practical cell-level limitations; historical 2016 perspective.

2. DOE/EPRI 2013 Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA

   Sandia National Laboratories · 2013

   Topic background · Storage technologies and grid services. The publisher notes that its historical cost and deployment figures are outdated.