An article published by the Journal of Power Sources in March 2022 explains how X-ray imaging and micro-spectroscopy unravel the role of zincate and zinc oxide in the cycling of zinc anodes in mildly acidic aqueous electrolytes.
Due to the increasing demand of batteries, environmental and safety concerns are pushing research towards post-lithium technologies. This article investigates rechargeable zinc batteries as a candidate which are not currently a viable option due to the “poorly understood unstable behavior of Zn metal upon discharge-charge cycling”.
Thin films of Zn and ZnO were sputter-deposited on Silson’s 75 nm Si3N4 windows for the X-ray absorption microspectroscopy experiments.
Here’s the link to read more about their findings!