A ZnO/PVA/CHI Composite Electrode for Rechargeable Zinc-air Battery

ZnO/PVA/CHI composite electrode with internal pore structure has been successfully prepared by cross-linking polymerization of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CHI). The resulting composite electrode exhibits a maximum anode dissolution current of 0.34A, 4.86 times higher than that of the pure ZnO electrode (0.07A).More importantly, the R ct of the composite electrode is 1.01Ω·cm 2 for the composite electrode, which is lower than that of pure ZnO electrode (2.805Ω·cm 2 ), attesting that the composite electrode possess a more favorable reaction rate. Moreover, the rechargeable battery assembled with composite electrode demonstrates a great improvement in charge/discharge efficiency and cycle stability. It remains over 80% of capacity retention even after 100 cycles, while that of pure electrode can only maintain this level less than 40 cycles. This proposed composting strategy herein may pay a way for the exploration of novel zinc anode for rechargeable zinc-air batteries with superior electrochemical performance.