Bio-catalyzed oxidation self-charging zinc-polymer batteries

• Main Authors: Pan, Jun, Liu, Yanhong, Yang, Jian, Wu, Jiawen, Fan, Hong Jin
• Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Physics; Oxidation self-charging; Hemoglobin additive
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/173953
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Oxidation self-charging batteries have emerged with the demand for powering electronic devices around the clock. The low efficiency of self-charging has been the key challenge at present. Here, a more efficient autoxidation self-charging mechanism is realized by introducing hemoglobin (Hb) as a positive electrode additive in the polyaniline (PANI)-zinc battery system. The heme acts as a catalyst that reduces the energy barrier of the autoxidation reaction by regulating the charge and spin state of O2. To realize self-charging, the adsorbed O2 molecules capture electrons of the reduced (discharged state) PANI, leading to the desorption of zinc ions and the oxidation of PANI to complete self-charging. The battery can discharge for 12 min (0.5 C) after 50 self-charging/discharge cycles, while there is nearly no discharge capacity in the absence of Hb. This biology-inspired electronic regulation strategy may inspire new ideas to boost the performance of self-charging batteries.