Metal-air batteries usually contain four major parts: an air electrode, metal electrode, electrolyte, and separator, as illustrated in Figure 1 A. For most metal-air batteries, the air electrode reactant O 2 is obtained from the ambient air rather than encapsulated in the cell.
A proper cell configuration is expected to take full advantage of the rationally designed materials for metal-air batteries. Developing efficient metal-air batteries needs the rational design of materials of the air electrode, metal electrode, electrolyte, and separator.
Therefore, it is crucial for promoting the further development of the metal-air batteries to study the problems and challenges in these batteries from the perspective of materials science, and look for solutions through the material design of air electrode, metal electrode, electrolyte, and separator materials.
Learn more. As an emerging battery technology, metal–air flow batteries inherit the advantageous features of the unique structural design of conventional redox flow batteries and the high energy density of metal–air batteries, thus showing great potential as efficient electrochemical systems for large-scale electrical energy storage.
Such innovative and practical metal–air battery is of great significance, which offers solutions to power telecom and rural electrification applications without electricity in remote places. The high energy Al–air battery shows their superior advantages of zero–emission, long duration, long standby, fast energy reload, and safety.
Therefore, the engineering of the electrolyte and the electrode should be consid- ered together in the full cell design of metal-air batteries.