Rechargeable first for promising battery tech

The first rechargeable sodium–carbon dioxide battery has been created with the help of a nanostructured cathode. The cheap and potentially powerful battery could fuel Mars vehicles as the red planet’s atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide or recycle carbon dioxide emissions on Earth.

Currently, the few existing metal–carbon dioxide batteries are non-rechargeable. As they discharge, solid products deposit on the cathode and block the gas channels that allow carbon dioxide to interact with the electrolyte, meaning the electrochemical reaction can’t be reversed. Jun Chen and his team at Nankai University in China overcame this flaw using an ether-based electrolyte and a carbon nanotube cathode. 

This article provides a link to coverage by Chemistry World