Self-sufficient metal–air battery systems enabled by solid-ion conductive interphases

Abstract

Metal–air batteries including Li–air, Na–air, Al–air, and Zn–air, have received significant scientific and technological interest for at least the last three decades. The interest stems primarily from the fact that the electrochemically active material (O₂) in the cathode can in principle be harvested from the surroundings. In practice, however, parasitic reactions with reactive components other than oxygen in dry air passivate the anode, limit cycling stability of air-sensitive (e.g., Li, Na, Al) and electrolyte-sensitive (e.g., Zn) anodes, in most cases obviating the energy-density benefits of harvesting O₂ from ambient air. As a compromise, so-called metal–oxygen batteries in which pure O₂ is used as the active cathode material have been extensively studied but are understood to be of little practical relevance because of the large infrastructure required to produce the pure O₂ stream. Here, we report on the design of solid-ion conductive chemically inert metal interphases that simultaneously protect a metal anode from parasitic reactions with electrolyte components and which facilitate rapid interfacial ion transport. Interphases composed of indium (In) are reported to be of particular interest for protecting Li and Na anodes from passivation in air whereas interphases composed of Sn are shown to prevent chemical and electrochemical corrosion of Zn anodes in alkaline electrolytes. We report further that these protections enable so-called self-sufficient metal–air batteries capable of extended cycling stability in ambient air environments.