Recycling of Zinc−Carbon Batteries into MnO/ZnO/C to Fabricate Sustainable Cathodes for Rechargeable Zinc‐Ion Batteries
Enbo Shangguan, Liming Wang, Yingchao Wang, Linpo Li, Mingxing Chen, Jing Qi, Chengke Wu, Mingyu Wang, Quanmin Li, Shuyan Gao, Jing Li
Abstract
Abstract Acidic zinc−carbon dry batteries have been widely used in life because of their low cost. However, a great quantity of used batteries is discarded as refuse, which not only wastes resources but also leads to environmental contamination. To reuse spent batteries on a large scale, this study concerns a simple, effective, and sustainable strategy to turn them into MnO/ZnO/C composites. After a conventional leaching treatment followed by pyrolysis, the rust cathode materials can be reduced to MnO/ZnO/C. When serving as a rechargeable zinc‐ion battery cathode, this electrode provides a maximum reversible capacity of around 362 mAh g −1 MnO ) and a rate capability of 191 mAh g −1 MnO at a high current rate of 1.20 A g −1 . Furthermore, ZnO gradually dissolves in the electrolyte with the increase of discharge cycles, replenishing the Zn 2+ content in the electrolyte and further enhancing cycling stability (98.02 % after 500 cycles). The device also exhibits a remarkable energy density of 336.37 Wh kg −1 , low self‐discharge rate, and can efficiently power a LED panel. This strategy offers an economical and facile route to convert zinc−carbon battery waste into useful materials for aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries.