Chinese study finds hotpot ingredient can boost battery performance in the cold


  • China
  • Saturday, 18 Jan 2025

Konjac glucomannan is a type of dietary fibre derived from the underground stem of the konjac plant, which is known for its culinary applications. -- Photo: Shutterstock/SCMP

BEIJING (SCMP): Chinese scientists have found fibre from the konjac plant – an ingredient in noodles and jelly added to hotpot – can improve the performance of water-based zinc batteries in low temperatures by keeping their components from freezing.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries, still largely in development, are a promising alternative to lithium batteries because of their high theoretical capacity, superior safety, and the wider availability of zinc compared with lithium.

Despite these benefits, the use of these batteries has been limited as the water-based electrolytes used in them are prone to freezing in low temperatures. An electrolyte is a component within a battery that allows the flow of power between the two electrodes.

“A critical challenge in electrolyte development involves improving the antifreeze characteristics without compromising high-rate performance,” the scientists wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Energy Materials on January 7.

The team, led by researchers from Changsha University of Science and Technology in central China’s Hunan province, added konjac glucomannan, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly organic polymer, to their battery’s electrolyte to help disrupt the network of hydrogen bonds in water to inhibit freezing.

Konjac glucomannan is a type of dietary fibre made from the underground stem of the konjac plant, which is known for its culinary applications, particularly in low-calorie noodles and jelly eaten in dishes such as hotpot.

The researchers found that this addition allowed for the formation of a stable colloidal system in an aqueous solution, where particles are evenly dispersed throughout, allowing for better stability and improved ion transport for electrochemical reactions.

"This system can effectively balance the antifreeze performance of the electrolyte with the performance requirements of the cell under high-rate charge - discharge conditions, thereby enhancing the overall performance of the cell," the team wrote.

They noted that even at a low temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), the cell continued to show "strong electrochemical performance".

With the addition of the konjac glucomannan, the team's battery was able to run stably for 1,250 hours at 25 degrees Celsius - and for over 800 hours at minus 10 degrees Celsius - while maintaining capacity.

Other challenges to water-based zinc batteries include the formation of dendrites - metallic crystals that can cross from one electrode to another and cause battery shorts - as well as side reactions.

By reconstructing the hydrogen bond network of water, the konjac glucomannan altered the arrangement of zinc ions, restricted the movement of water molecules and formed a protective layer on the electrodes.

The team said this was able to stop undesirable side reactions from occurring and inhibited zinc dendrite formation - even under low temperatures.

"We have developed konjac glucomannan as an economical, multifunctional, colloidal-like antifreeze electrolyte additive to enhance the rate performance and lifespan of aqueous zinc-ion batteries at low temperatures," they wrote.

- This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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