Synthesis and Characterization of Copper Hexacyanoferrate and its Analogues as Cathode Material for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Abstract

There is a current global need of clean energy sources to replace the non-renewable fossil fuels due to the global warming and environmental impacts. Therefore, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind have attracted wide attention as clean energy to meet the worldwide energy demand. Since these resources are inherently intermittent, a scalable low-cost energy storage system with long lifetime is needed to integrate these sources to the grid-scale. Among different energy storage technologies, batteries are the best choice for the integration in renewable energy systems. In the last decades, among rechargeable batteries, aqueous metal-ion batteries provide lower cost, are environmentally friendly, safe, and nontoxic systems. This makes them a potential choice for grid-scale energy storage. In this Ph.D. work the focus is on the development of an aqueous zinc-ion battery based on derivatives of the Prussian blue family that can provide high specific energy and power.