According to ZDNet, chemical engineering researchers at the University of Sydney and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a new battery technology called zinc-air batteries that researchers believe can be used in electronics to replace lithium-ion batteries.
It is understood that the zinc air battery before the use of expensive metals such as platinum and iridium oxide as a catalyst, so its application is limited to a small part of the electronic devices, such as hearing aids and railway signaling systems, etc. Now the new technology began to use high-performance, Low-cost catalysts, these catalysts are made of iron, cobalt and nickel and other metal oxides crystallization.
Zinc air battery belongs to a kind of metal air battery, it produces energy by oxidation of zinc in the air, compared with the traditional lithium ion battery, it has the characteristics of large storage capacity, safety and environmental protection, lower cost.Li-ion battery due to Lightweight and high power supply have become the default battery options for smartphones and electric vehicles but due to their nature, short-circuiting can have very serious consequences, while zinc-air batteries use zinc metal, which is rich in resources and does not Lithium-ion battery as easy to short circuit, storage capacity is five times the lithium-ion battery.
'Our approach can generate a lot of high-performance and low-cost catalysts.' 'Professor Yuan Chen of the Department of Engineering and Technology at the University of Sydney said:' We are working on some basic science and technology issues, hoping to develop sustainable metal air for our society Battery.
Have to say that if the battery can replace the lithium-ion battery used in smart phones and other electronic devices, one allows the phone to increase battery life, two smartphones are expected to add more functionality.Other rechargeable metal air Batteries also include the use of magnesium and graphene.