A zinc-air battery in a hearing aid can be a perfect companion for a partly-deaf Earthling. But it would be no use at all if there were no oxygen to act as companion cathode. Scientists at China’s University of Science and Technology clearly were thinking on their feet, when they came up with a Mars battery for a CO2 rich atmosphere.
Why a Zinc-Air Battery Could Not Work on Mars
A zinc-air battery generates its energy when a mass of zinc particles forms a porous anode. Meanwhile, oxygen reacts at the cathode to form hydroxyl ions. These migrate into the zinc paste to form a zincate, releasing electrons to travel to the cathode.
Such a battery could never work on Mars, of course. This is because the atmosphere there is 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen,1.6% argon, plus a smattering of oxygen, carbon monoxide, water, methane, and other gases.
The team at China’s University of Science and Technology were clearly in a creative mood, when they simulated the distant planet’s atmosphere. This artificial environment enabled them to develop a Mars battery in their laboratory, that used the carbon dioxide to generate sustainable energy.
A Battery Capable of Inhaling the Distant Planet’s Atmosphere
The Chinese scientists say they created a battery capable of ‘direct inhalation of the Mars atmosphere as fuel’ during discharge. And with secondary charging capability by external solar and nuclear energy sources, according to SCMP.Com.
Their research will be valuable input to China’s Mars exploration program. The Asian country is already the second nation to have successfully landed on Mars.
The energy density of the experimental battery was 373.9 watt-hours per kilogram at 0°C, with a cycle life of 1,375 earth hours. Having a Mars battery should be a significant step forward, from relying on portable lithium-ion batteries, or large-scale solar panels and nuclear batteries.
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