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Statistical Approach to Design Zn Particle Size, Shape, and Crystallinity for Alkaline Batteries

The modern alkaline primary battery is composed of a highly alkaline, gelled electrolyte-zinc powder anode dispersion (slurry), a cellulose-based separator, and an electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) cathode pellet – typically arranged in a cylindrical cell geometry. This battery system has its origins in the 1950s and thus has had decades to be researched and matured and it is known that the limiting performance of this battery system is concentrated at the slurried zinc anode. This had led many researchers to focus on the anode for improvement with most previous engineering efforts targeting enhanced performance, capacity, and stability of this material. Due to the various material fabrication processes involved with manufacturing industrial zinc powder, there exists an array of unique zinc particle size, shape, and crystallinity combinations that distinguish industrial zinc powders from one another. These industrial zinc powders are typically produced through trial-and-error processes using existing “rules of thumb”. Consequentially, it is possible that something has been missed and a data-driven approach could elucidate the optimum combination of zinc particle properties.
 In this study, we investigate the effect of Zn particle size, shape, and degree of crystallinity on the achievable capacity and corrosion current. Various types of zinc powders were sieved into size fraction ranges and chemically and thermo-chemically treated to control their crystallinity. The procedure for producing zinc powders of various sizes, shapes, and crystallinities led to a 64-powder Zn matrix that was then electrochemically analyzed by linear sweep voltammetry to determine the corrosion current and galvanostatically discharged to determine the achievable capacity. These experiments were done in a newly-designed, custom-built electroanalytical cell that will be described in the talk. Following the data collection, a 4k factorial statistical analysis was performed. This analysis identified which of the controlling variables have a statistically significant influence on the achievable capacity and corrosion. The statistical model was also able to provide guidance regarding the preferred particle shape. This information can be used to develop actionable procedures for battery manufacturers to create cells that are more stable, longer lasting, and have higher energy densities.