Revealing Failure Mechanisms in Zinc-Manganese Dioxide Batteries Via Nondestructive Electrochemical Diagnostics

The world of long-term-high-density energy storage systems is dominated by the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. However, associated setbacks with the Li ion industry such as safety, geopolitical concerns, and rising costs have spearheaded research into investigating alternative approaches to the Li-ion batteries. A promising alternative to the Li-ion battery is the zinc manganese oxide (Zn||MnO2) battery due to its high energy density and much safer chemistry. However, a step towards commercialization of the Zn||MnO2 requires a deep dive into the failure mechanisms native to such cells. These failure mechanisms are identified as electrolyte degradation, increased cell impedance, loss of Zn inventory, and loss of cathode inventory. Conventionally, techniques employed in identifying failure mechanisms are destructive and time consuming. Thus, there is the need to investigate reliable nondestructive techniques which can predict failure mechanism in Zn|MnO2 cells. In this research an electrochemical approach is pursued, employing the use of cell features such as rest potentials and columbic efficiencies to model various failure mechanisms in Zn||EMD cells. Prior to investigating failure mechanisms, optimization of the Zn||EMD cell is explored based on particle size, EMD weight composition, and electrolyte volume to minimize Mn2+ dissolution.