An effective phosphate ester-containing organic additive for the alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries

The Zn electrode in the alkaline Zn-MnO 2 batteries is suffered from the self-corrosion and hydrogen evolution, which deteriorates their discharge performance and storage life. To address these issues, this work proposes a low-cost and effective phosphate ester-containing organic additive, coconut oil alkyl alcohol amide phosphate ester (DG6503), for the alkaline electrolyte of the Zn-MnO 2 batteries. The phosphate ester groups in DG6503 can form a complex precipitate coating on the surface of Zn, and efficiently decrease H 2 evolution rate of the Zn electrode by over 90 %. DG6503 also can suppress the formation of nanoneedle ZnO products during the discharge of Zn-MnO 2 batteries. Therefore, the discharge capacities of the alkaline Zn-MnO 2 batteries can be greatly improved under the various discharge conditions before and after long-term storage. Our work provides a promising method for improving the discharge property and storage life of the alkaline Zn-MnO 2 batteries.