Experimental Characterization of a Novel Fluidized-Bed Zn–Air Fuel Cell

Zn–air fuel cells are promising energy storage devices for renewable energy and power sources, as they are cost-effective and have high energy density. However, limited charge and discharge cycles and low round-trip efficiency have long been obstacles to large-scale market deployment. Herein, a new fluidized-bed zinc–air fuel cell is designed, constructed, tested, and characterized. The integration of the fluidized bed in the zinc–air fuel cell leads to key advantages such as: erosion of the anode passivation layer, which plays a key role in the rapid voltage decay and keeping the products of reactions away from the proximity of the electrodes, reducing the concentration overpotential, due to the concentration gradient of electrode species in the diffusion boundary layer between the electrode–electrolyte interface and the electrolyte bulk.