Light-assisted rechargeable zinc-air battery:Mechanism,progress,and prospects

Exploring effective energy storage systems is critical to alleviate energy scarcity.Rechargeable zinc-air batteries are promising energy storage devices.However,conventional rechargeable zinc-air battery systems face many challenges associated with electrolytes and electrodes,causing inferior electrochemistry performance.The light-assisted strategy represents a novel and innovative approach to conventional zinc-air battery technology that uses only electrical energy.This strategy effectively combines both light and electrical energy conversion/storage mechanisms.In addition,light-assisted rechargeable zinc-air batteries can achieve photocharging with or without applied electrical bias by partially using solar energy and the acceleration of oxygen reduction/evolution reaction kinetics.In this paper,the working mechanism and structural design of the light-assisted rechargeable zinc-air batteries are introduced based on the theory of photoelectrochemistry and its characteristics.Then,the latest advances in electrolyte and photocathode design strategies are discussed in detail.The performance enhancement of aqueous light-assisted rechargeable zinc-air batteries using photoelectric materials is explained.Finally,a summary and outlook on the further modification of properties of light-assisted rechargeable zinc-air batteries,especially the photovoltaic electrode catalyst design strategies,are illustrated.This review provides insights and guidance for the design of high-performance light-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries for next-generation energy storage devices.