Lifetime simulation of rechargeable zinc-air battery based on electrode aging

•A mathematical model for rechargeable zinc-air battery was developed.•Failure of air electrode on the battery lifetime was investigated.•Impact of dendrite growth on the battery performance was analyzed. Rechargeable zinc-air battery will be a promising candidate to energy storage because of high energy density, low price, good safety and friendly environment. However, the cycle life of rechargeable zinc-air battery is short, mainly resulting from electrode aging. In consideration of the experimental cost and time, here we establish a flexible and expandable mathematical model for rechargeable zinc-air battery, where key factors of air electrode flooding, carbon dioxide, active material loss and zinc dendrite growth are added to the battery model to study performance degradation of the battery. The results show that the model is able to simulate the charge-discharge process of rechargeable zinc-air battery and effectively predict cycle life of the battery based on air electrode failure and morphological change of zinc electrode, demonstrating that dendrite growth is fatal to the battery lifetime, and performance attenuation of air electrode gradually deteriorates the battery performance. The model is helpful for predicting the lifetime of rechargeable metal-air batteries as well as structure optimization of rechargeable zinc-air battery.