Towards Printed Zinc-Lignin Batteries

Printed electronics involves using printing technologies as a mass production tool to integrate electronic circuits, sensors, and wireless communication on a flexible label, making any kind of object interactively connected to the internet. This is the "Internet of Everything," which is expected to connect billions of electronic labels to the internet. Powering these devices with conventional batteries presents a sustainability challenge in terms of material recycling and expensive maintenance. Today, bulky batteries are increasingly being replaced by low-power energy harvesters (e.g., thermoelectrics, solar cells, piezoelectrics) that charge thin batteries without the need for maintenance. The technical specifications for these types of thin batteries include high cyclability, high power, green materials, low cost, and compatibility with printed technologies, rather than the high energy density required in other sectors such as mobile phones.<br/><br/>The greenest materials come from biomass. Lignin is of particular interest because it is an aromatic biopolymer that carries catechol groups capable of storing charges through electrochemical reactions. First, we explore the design of lignin electrodes by compositing with carbon or conducting polymers [1,2]. Second, a new class of electrolyte operating in the "water in polymer salt electrolyte" regime is considered to enable aqueous organic batteries with low self-discharge behavior [3-6]. Finally, we integrate these materials into a robust and promising zinc-lignin battery [7].<br/><br/><b>References:</b><br/>1. U. Ail et al., Optimization of Non Pyrolyzed Lignin Electrodes for Sustainable Batteries. Advanced Sustainable Systems, 2200396 (2022).<br/>2. U. Ail et al., Effect of Sulfonation Level on Lignin/Carbon Composite Electrodes for Large Scale Organic Batteries. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 8, 17933-17944 (2020).<br/>3. D. Kumar et al., Self-Discharge in Batteries Based on Lignin and Water-in-Polymer Salt Electrolyte. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research 3, 2200073 (2022).<br/>4. D. Kumar et al., Zinc salt in “Water-in-Polymer Salt Electrolyte” for Zinc-Lignin Batteries: Electroactivity of the Lignin Cathode. Advanced Sustainable Systems, 2200433 (2022).<br/>5. Z. Khan et al., Water-in-Polymer Salt Electrolyte for Slow Self-Discharge in Organic Batteries. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research 3, 2100165 (2022).<br/>6. Z. Khan et al., Towards printable water-in-polymer salt electrolytes for high power organic batteries. Journal of Power Sources 524, 231103 (2022).<br/>7. D. Kumar et al., Water-in-polymer salt electrolyte for long-life rechargeable aqueous zinc-lignin battery. Energy Environ. Mater. 0, e12752 (2024).