A group of Cornell researchers recently came up with an energy storage solution that is better than the lithium-ion batteries that currently dominate the market but are slow to charge and have a knack for catching fire.

Their paper, “Regulating electrode position morphology in high-capacity aluminium and zinc battery anodes using interfacial metal–substrate Bonding,” was published on April 5 in Nature Energy.

The paper’s lead author is Zheng Jingxu, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who graduated from Shenzhen Foreign Languages School (SFLS) in 2013.

A Ph.D. researcher at Cornell last year, Zheng now works with a team led by engineering professor Lynden Archer. The group previously demonstrated the potential of zinc-anode batteries. Now, they have employed a different approach for incorporating aluminum, resulting in rechargeable batteries that offer up to 10,000 error-free charging cycles.

“A very interesting feature of this battery is that only two elements are used for the anode and the cathode —aluminum and carbon — both of which are inexpensive and environmentally friendly,” Zheng said. “They also have a very long life cycle, which means the cost will be further reduced.”

An excellent student since high school, Zheng was enrolled at Shanghai Jiao Tong University without having to take the National College Entrance Exams. He also won many national academic competitions during his college years and furthered his study at Cornell. In 2019, he started to publish papers in top journals like Science, Science Advances and Angew.

In addition to his academic achievements, Zheng passed the bar exam and the Securities Practitioner Qualification Exams during his undergraduate years. He is also a bel canto singer and piano player, having studied music from an early age.

Cherishing happy memories of his high school years, Zheng said the teachers of SFLS gave him the love and care that helped him find the passion for research and life and in the future, would definitely send his children to the school if they live in Shenzhen.

(Li Dan)