Positive and negative electrodes for zinc series chemical batteries

Abstract

The structure of zinc series chemical battery positive and negative electrode is divided into two types, the first type mainly consists of main zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, auxiliary zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, battery positive electrode, the installation sequence is that the main zinc negative electrode is at the outermost side, the diaphragm a, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode, the diaphragm a and the battery positive electrode are sequentially and parallelly installed; the second type mainly consists of air positive electrode, diaphragm b, main zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, auxiliary zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a and third electrode, the installation sequence is that the air positive electrode is at the outermost side and faces the air direction, the diaphragm b, the main zinc negative electrode, the diaphragm a, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode, the diaphragm and the third electrode are sequentially and parallelly installed with the air positive electrode; in the above two structures, the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode jointly constitute the zinc negative electrode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of electrochemical battery technology, and specifically relates to the structure of the positive electrode and zinc negative electrode of zinc series batteries. Background Technology

[0002] In zinc-based batteries, whether alkaline, acidic, or neutral, a common problem exists: during charging, the zinc anode is prone to zinc dendrite formation due to the concentration difference of zinc ions in the electrolyte. These dendrites can easily penetrate the separator between the positive and negative electrodes, causing a short circuit and damaging the battery. Currently, various microporous membranes, grafted membranes, and nylon nonwoven membranes are available for zinc-based batteries. However, these membranes share a common problem: they cannot effectively prevent zinc dendrite penetration. This is the main reason why zinc-based batteries have a limited number of charge-discharge cycles in practical applications and cannot be widely used. This invention addresses these problems by proposing a zinc-based electrochemical battery positive and negative electrode structure that effectively prevents zinc dendrite penetration, thereby extending the charge-discharge cycles of zinc-based batteries. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a positive and negative electrode structure for a zinc-based chemical battery. The positive and negative electrodes of this zinc-based chemical battery are classified into two types according to their structure. The first type mainly consists of a main zinc negative electrode, a separator a, an auxiliary zinc negative electrode, another separator a, and a positive electrode. The installation sequence is as follows: the main zinc negative electrode is on the outermost side, followed by separator a, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode, another separator a, and the positive electrode, all installed in parallel in sequence. A separator a is installed between the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode to isolate them from contact. A separator a is also installed between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode and the positive electrode, further isolating them from contact. The main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode together constitute the negative electrode of the battery.

[0004] In the first structure, the auxiliary zinc anode can prevent zinc dendrites deposited on the main zinc anode from penetrating the separator and causing a short circuit between the main zinc anode and the positive electrode of the battery.

[0005] The separator a is in close contact with the insulating edge of the main zinc negative electrode to prevent zinc powder deposited on the main zinc negative electrode from falling off and sinking to the bottom of the battery; the separator a is in close contact with the insulating edge of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode.

[0006] The second type mainly consists of an air positive electrode, diaphragm b, a main zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, an auxiliary zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, and a third electrode. The installation sequence is as follows: the air positive electrode faces the air direction, and diaphragm b, the main zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode, the diaphragm, and the third electrode are installed in parallel with the air positive electrode in sequence. The main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode together constitute the zinc negative electrode. Diaphragm b is installed between the air positive electrode and the main zinc negative electrode, diaphragm a is installed between the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode, and diaphragm a is installed between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode and the third electrode.

[0007] The separator b is in close contact with the insulating edge of the main zinc negative electrode to prevent zinc powder deposited on the main zinc negative electrode from falling off and sinking to the bottom of the battery; the separator b is in close contact with the insulating edge of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode.

[0008] In the second structure, the auxiliary zinc anode can prevent zinc dendrites deposited on the main zinc anode from penetrating the diaphragm a and causing a short circuit between the main zinc anode and the third electrode.

[0009] In the second structure, the diaphragm b is located between the air positive electrode and the main zinc negative electrode, which prevents the air positive electrode and the main zinc negative electrode from coming into contact with each other.

[0010] The diaphragm a is located between the main zinc anode and the auxiliary zinc anode, and serves to isolate the main zinc anode from contact with the auxiliary zinc anode.

[0011] The diaphragm a is located between the auxiliary zinc anode and the third electrode, and serves to isolate the auxiliary zinc anode from contact with the third electrode.

[0012] There is a distance of 0.2-1mm between the main zinc negative electrode and the positive electrode of the battery.

[0013] There is a distance of 0.2-1mm between the main zinc anode and the auxiliary zinc anode.

[0014] There is a distance of 0.2-1 mm between the third electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode.

[0015] During the charging process of the zinc series battery, the main zinc negative electrode serves as the zinc deposition electrode, while the auxiliary zinc negative electrode is not connected to the main zinc negative electrode and remains disconnected during the charging process. During the discharging process of the zinc series battery, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode is connected to the main zinc negative electrode, and both the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode are used together as the negative electrode of the zinc series battery.

[0016] The main function of the auxiliary zinc anode is to prevent zinc dendrites formed by zinc powder deposited on the main zinc anode from penetrating the separator a between the main zinc anode and the auxiliary zinc anode. The zinc dendrites are first blocked by the auxiliary zinc anode. When the zinc series battery starts to discharge, the zinc dendrites blocked by the auxiliary zinc anode will be consumed. This ensures that the battery is not damaged due to zinc dendrites penetrating the separator a between the main zinc anode and the third electrode or the positive electrode in the first or second structure.

[0017] The diaphragm can be made of polypropylene microporous membrane, polyethylene microporous membrane, polyethylene grafted membrane, polypropylene or polyethylene composite diaphragm, nylon nonwoven fabric diaphragm, etc.

[0018] The diaphragm b can be made of plastic mesh, polypropylene microporous membrane, polyethylene microporous membrane, polypropylene or polyethylene composite diaphragm, nylon nonwoven fabric diaphragm, etc.; the plastic mesh can be made of nylon mesh, polyphenylene sulfide mesh, polyethylene mesh, polypropylene mesh, etc. with a mesh size of 80-200 mesh and a thickness of 0.1-1mm.

[0019] The shape of the main zinc negative electrode is determined according to the needs of various zinc series batteries, and can be square, rectangular, round, etc.

[0020] The main zinc negative electrode consists of a metal mesh and an insulating edging. The insulating edging completely wraps around the outer edge of the metal mesh to prevent the outer edge of the metal mesh of the main zinc negative electrode from puncturing the diaphragm a. The thickness of the insulating edging is between 0.4-1.4 mm, and the width is between 3-8 mm. The insulating edging can be injection molded using plastic resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

[0021] The shape of the auxiliary zinc anode is determined according to the shape of the main zinc anode, and can be round, square or rectangular, etc. The distance between the edge of the auxiliary zinc anode and the edge of the main zinc anode is between 3-10mm.

[0022] The auxiliary zinc negative electrode consists of a metal mesh and an insulating edging. The insulating edging completely wraps around the outer edge of the metal mesh to prevent the outer edge of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode from puncturing the diaphragm a. The total thickness of the insulating edging is between 0.4-1.4 mm, and the width is between 3-8 mm. The insulating edging can be injection molded using plastic resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

[0023] The metal mesh materials for the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode are made of nickel mesh or nickel-plated or tin-plated metal mesh in alkaline zinc series batteries, and nickel mesh or nickel-plated, copper-plated, or stainless steel mesh in acidic zinc series batteries. The mesh size is 40-120 mesh. The thickness of the metal mesh for the main zinc negative electrode and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode is between 0.1-0.3 mm.

[0024] In the second structure, the main function of the third electrode is to form a charging pair with the main zinc negative electrode. During the charging process, the third electrode is connected to the positive terminal of the charging power supply, and the main zinc negative electrode is connected to the negative terminal of the charging power supply.

[0025] An air electrode refers to the positive electrode in a metal-air battery, such as the positive electrode in a zinc-air battery or an aluminum-air battery.

[0026] The term "battery positive electrode" as used above refers to the positive electrode that makes up different zinc series batteries, such as the nickel positive electrode in a zinc-nickel battery, the manganese electrode in a zinc-manganese battery, the bromine positive electrode in a zinc-bromine battery, and the iron positive electrode in a zinc-iron battery.

[0027] A zinc-based battery zinc anode refers to an anode composed of a main zinc anode and an auxiliary zinc anode.

[0028] A zinc-based battery has a zinc negative electrode and a nickel positive electrode forming a charge / discharge electrode pair, which can be used in the manufacture of zinc-nickel batteries or flow zinc-nickel batteries.

[0029] A zinc-based battery has a zinc negative electrode and a third electrode forming a charging electrode pair, which, when paired with an air electrode (positive electrode), can be used to manufacture rechargeable zinc-air batteries or flow zinc-air batteries.

[0030] The third electrode consists of nickel foam and an insulating edging. The nickel foam is 0.5-2 mm thick and has the same shape as the auxiliary zinc anode, but its outer edge is 5-10 mm smaller. An insulating edging surrounds the nickel foam to prevent the outer edge of the third electrode from piercing the diaphragm and contacting the auxiliary zinc anode. The total thickness of the insulating edging is 0.7-2.5 mm, and its width is 3-8 mm. The insulating edging can be injection molded from polyethylene, polypropylene, or other plastic resins.

[0031] There is a distance of 0.4-1.5mm between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode and the third electrode to prevent the third electrode from contacting the auxiliary zinc negative electrode too closely, which would cause the third electrode to conduct through the auxiliary zinc negative electrode.

[0032] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: Zinc-series batteries made using the present invention can significantly increase the charge-discharge cycle life of zinc-series batteries, thereby greatly reducing the usage cost of various zinc-series batteries such as zinc-nickel batteries, zinc-bromine batteries, zinc-air batteries, and zinc-silver batteries. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the first structural principle of the positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the second structural principle of the positive and negative electrodes in a zinc-based chemical battery.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of a zinc-nickel battery, which consists of the first structure of positive and negative electrodes in a zinc-series chemical battery.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of a zinc-air battery, which consists of a second type of structure for the positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-series chemical battery.

[0037] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the main zinc negative electrode insulation edge-wrapping structure.

[0038] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the insulating edge-wrapping structure of the third electrode.

[0039] Figure number explanation: 1, main zinc negative electrode; 2, auxiliary zinc negative electrode; 3, separator a; 4, battery positive electrode; 5, air electrode; 6, plastic edging; 7, metal mesh; 8, third electrode; 9. Diaphragm b; 10. Outer shell; 11. Electrolyte; 12. Insulating edging; 13. Nickel foam. Detailed Implementation

[0040] Example 1: Refer to Figure 2 , Figure 4 This is a rechargeable zinc-air battery constructed using a zinc negative electrode and an air electrode 6. The zinc-air battery mainly consists of an air electrode 5, a separator 9, a main zinc negative electrode 1, a separator 3, an auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2, a separator 3, a third electrode 8, an electrolyte 11, and a casing 10. The components are installed as follows: the air electrode 5 is mounted on the outer wall of the casing 10, with its air intake layer directly in contact with air and facing the air direction; the separator 9, main zinc negative electrode 1, separator 3, auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2, separator 3, and third electrode 8 are sequentially installed parallel to the catalytic layer of the air electrode 5 facing the inside of the casing; the main zinc negative electrode 1 and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 together constitute the zinc-air battery. The negative electrode is air electrode 5, which is the positive electrode of the zinc-air battery. A separator 9 is installed between air electrode 5 and main zinc negative electrode 1. The separator 9 is made of 100-mesh nylon mesh. The separator 9 has two functions: first, to prevent the main zinc negative electrode 1 from contacting the air electrode 5; second, to prevent zinc powder deposited on the main zinc negative electrode 1 from falling off and settling to the bottom of the battery. A separator 3 is installed between auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and main zinc negative electrode 1, and between auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and third electrode 8 to prevent auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 from contacting third electrode 8 during charging. The separator 3 is made of polypropylene microporous membrane, and the distance between auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and third electrode 8 is 0.5 mm.

[0041] The zinc-air battery is charged between the main zinc negative electrode 1 and the third electrode 8. The main zinc negative electrode 1 is connected to the negative terminal of the charging power supply, and the third electrode 8 is connected to the positive terminal of the charging power supply. During the charging process, the connection between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and the main zinc negative electrode 1 is disconnected, and zinc powder is deposited on the surface of the main zinc negative electrode 1 during the charging process.

[0042] During the discharge process of the zinc-air battery, the discharge takes place between the air electrode 5 and the zinc negative electrode. The zinc negative electrode is composed of a main zinc negative electrode 1 and an auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2. The main zinc negative electrode 1 and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 are in a conductive state. The air electrode 5 is the positive electrode of the discharge battery.

[0043] The main zinc anode 1 is rectangular in shape, with a length of 100mm and a width of 80mm. The metal mesh 7 of the main zinc anode 1 is made of copper mesh plated with tin. The copper mesh is 0.2mm thick and has an 80-mesh size.

[0044] The auxiliary zinc anode 2 is rectangular in shape, with a length of 90mm and a width of 70mm; the auxiliary zinc anode 2 is made of tin-plated copper mesh; the copper mesh is 0.2mm thick and has an 80-mesh opening; The main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2 are edged with polypropylene plastic, with an edge width of 5mm and a thickness of 0.8mm.

[0045] The third electrode 8 is made of 1.0mm thick nickel foam. The dimensions of the third electrode 8 are 80mm in length and 60mm in width. The third electrode 8 is edged with polypropylene plastic with a width of 5mm and a thickness of 1.5mm.

[0046] The distance between the main zinc negative electrode 1 and the air electrode 5 is 1 mm.

[0047] Example 2: Refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 3 It is a zinc-nickel battery composed of a zinc negative electrode and a positive electrode 4. The zinc-nickel battery mainly consists of a main zinc negative electrode 1, a separator 3, an auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2, a separator 3, a positive electrode 4, an electrolyte 11, and a casing 10. The installation sequence is as follows: the main zinc negative electrode 1 is installed parallel to the inner side of the casing 10, and then the separator 3, the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2, the separator 3, and the positive electrode 4 are installed parallel to the main zinc negative electrode 1.

[0048] The positive electrode 4 of the battery uses the nickel positive electrode of a common zinc-nickel battery; The main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2 together constitute the zinc anode of the zinc-nickel battery. A separator 3 is installed between the main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2. During the charging process between the positive electrode 4 and the zinc anode, the main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2 are disconnected. During the charging process, zinc powder is deposited only on the main zinc anode 1.

[0049] A separator 3 is installed between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and the battery positive electrode 4. The separator 3 serves two purposes: first, to prevent the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 from contacting the battery positive electrode 4; and second, to prevent zinc dendrites from contacting the battery positive electrode 4 during the charging process of the zinc-nickel battery. The distance between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode 2 and the battery positive electrode 4 is 0.3 mm. During the discharge of the zinc-nickel battery, the main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2 are in a conductive state.

[0050] The main zinc anode 1 is rectangular in shape, with a length of 100mm and a width of 80mm. The metal mesh 7 used in the main zinc anode 1 is made of tin-plated copper mesh; the copper mesh is 0.2mm thick and has an 80-mesh opening.

[0051] The auxiliary zinc anode 2 is rectangular in shape, with a length of 90mm and a width of 70mm; the auxiliary zinc anode 2 is made of tin-plated copper mesh; the copper mesh is 0.2mm thick and has an 80-mesh opening; The main zinc anode 1 and the auxiliary zinc anode 2 are edged with polypropylene plastic, with an edge width of 5mm and a thickness of 0.6mm.

[0052] The nickel cathode 4 is rectangular in shape, with a length of 80mm and a width of 60mm; the manufacturing process of the battery cathode 4 is the same as that of the nickel cathode of a general zinc-nickel battery.

[0053] The diaphragm 3 is made of polypropylene microporous membrane.

Claims

1. A zinc-based chemical battery has two types of positive and negative electrodes classified according to their structure, characterized by: The first structure mainly consists of a main zinc negative electrode (1), a separator a (3), an auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), a separator a (3), and a battery positive electrode (4), arranged in the following order: the main zinc negative electrode (1) is on the outermost side, and the separator a (3), auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), separator a (3), and battery positive electrode (4) are installed in parallel in sequence; a separator a (3) is installed between the main zinc negative electrode (1) and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), and a separator a (3) is installed between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2) and the battery positive electrode (4); the second structure mainly consists of an air positive electrode (5), a separator b (9), a main zinc negative electrode (1), a separator a (3), an auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), and a separator a (3); the third The electrodes (8) are arranged in the following order: the air positive electrode (5) is on the outermost side facing the air, and the separator b (9), the main zinc negative electrode (1), the separator a (3), the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), the separator a (3), and the third electrode (8) are installed in parallel with the air positive electrode (5) in sequence; the separator b (9) is installed between the air positive electrode (5) and the main zinc negative electrode (1), the separator a (3) is installed between the main zinc negative electrode (1) and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2), and the separator a (3) is installed between the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2) and the third electrode (8); in both structures, the main zinc negative electrode (1) and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2) together constitute the negative electrode in the discharge state of the chemical battery.

2. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is a distance of 0.2-1mm between the main zinc negative electrode (1) and the positive electrode (4); there is a distance of 0.2-1mm between the main zinc negative electrode (1) and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2); there is a distance of 0.2-1mm between the third electrode (8) and the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2).

3. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diaphragm a(3) can be one of the following: polypropylene microporous membrane, polyethylene microporous membrane, polyethylene grafted membrane, polypropylene composite diaphragm, polyethylene composite diaphragm, or nylon nonwoven fabric diaphragm.

4. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diaphragm b (9) is selected from one of the following: plastic mesh, polypropylene microporous membrane, polyethylene microporous membrane, polypropylene composite diaphragm, polyethylene composite diaphragm, and nylon nonwoven fabric diaphragm; The plastic mesh should be made of one of the following: nylon mesh, polyphenylene sulfide mesh, polyethylene mesh, or polypropylene mesh, with a mesh size of 80-200 and a thickness of 0.1-1mm.

5. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main zinc negative electrode (1) is composed of a metal mesh (7) and an insulating edging (12). The insulating edging (12) completely wraps the outer edge of the metal mesh (7). The thickness of the insulating edging (12) is between 0.4-1.4 mm and the width is between 3-8 mm. The insulating edging (12) is injection molded using plastic resin.

6. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2) is composed of a metal mesh (7) and an insulating edging (12). The distance between the edge of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2) and the edge of the main zinc negative electrode (1) is between 3-10 mm. The insulating edging (12) completely wraps the outer edge of the metal mesh (7). The thickness of the insulating edging (12) is between 0.4-1.4 mm and the width is between 3-8 mm. The insulating edging (12) is made of plastic resin injection molding.

7. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The third electrode (8) is composed of nickel foam (13) and insulating edging (12). The thickness of the nickel foam (13) is between 0.5-2 mm, and its shape is the same as that of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2). The outer edge dimension of the third electrode (8) is 5-10 mm smaller than that of the auxiliary zinc negative electrode (2). The nickel foam (13) is surrounded by insulating edging (12). The thickness of the insulating edging (12) is between 0.7-2.5 mm, and its width is between 3-8 mm. The insulating edging (12) is injection molded using plastic resin.

8. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main zinc anode shape (1) can be square, rectangular or round.

9. The positive and negative electrodes of a zinc-based chemical battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape of the auxiliary zinc anode (2) is determined according to the shape of the main zinc anode (1). It can be round, square or rectangular. The distance between the edge of the auxiliary zinc anode (2) and the edge of the main zinc anode (1) is between 3-10 mm.

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