Studies on the vapour-transport synthesis and electrochemical properties of zinc micro-, meso- and nanoscale structures

In this paper, we report the syntheses of zinc micro/meso/nanoscale spheres and needles via a vapour-transport deposition process and their electrochemical properties as anode active materials for alkaline Zn–MnO2 batteries. The instrumental analysis showed that the zinc microspheres presented uniform polyhedral morphology with the diameter of approximately 1–3 µm; the mesoscale spheres were around 150 nm in diameter, and the nanoneedles grew towards the upper end of the nano domain to form a porous network structure with a nanoneedle length of more than 100 nm. The electrochemical investigation indicated that the vapour-deposited zinc, and in particular the mixture of zinc micro- and mesoscale spheres exhibited superior electrochemical properties due to the decrease of the charge transfer resistance and the suppression of passivation of the zinc electrode, resulting in the improvement of the electrochemical performance of the alkaline Zn–MnO2 battery.