From hydrogen bonding to high performance

A research team from the Faculty of Advanced Materials, led by Professor Pan Feng, discovered an important mechanism that governs the way protons are stored and transported in aqueous batteries at Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University.

This study provides important insights that could lead to safer, faster, faster charging, and more capacity alternatives for today’s lithium-ion batteries. A study published in Matter, titled “Proton Storage and Transfer in Aqueous Batteries,” reveals how hydrogen-bonded network engineering allows efficient proton storage and transport.

Aqueous batteries using water-based electrolytes are inherently safer than lithium-ion systems, but traditionally have lower energy density. Protons are extremely promising due to their low mass and high maneuverability, but their complex chemistry has limited real-world applications.

The PAN team shows that protons do not diffuse like metal ions, but hopping between hydrogen bonds and passing through glossus-type mechanisms. This allows for ultra-fast “diffusion-free” transport, placing protons as ideal charge carriers in high-performance aqueous batteries.

This research addresses the longstanding challenges in energy storage: achieving both safety and high performance. By clarifying how hydrogen-bonded networks promote proton storage and transport, this study lays a solid theoretical foundation for a new generation of energy systems that may match or exceed lithium-ion technology.

Unlike lithium (Li+) and sodium (Na+), it forms stable ionic bonds with oxygen in its hard crystal framework, forming more covalent, saturated H-O bonds and does not integrate into the lattice in the same way.

An important contribution of this study is the proposal of three core strategies to optimize aqueous battery performance using hydrogen bond network engineering.

First, in electrode design, researchers propose to embed water-containing or anhydrous hydrogen bond networks within the solid material to create well-defined pathways for proton transport.

Second, it has been shown that by adjusting the concentration of acid and the type of anion present in the electrolyte, the conductivity of protons can be stably strengthened.

Third, from an interface engineering perspective, the team shows that modifying the electrode surface, such as using oxygen plasma treatment to introduce hydroxyl (–OH) and carboxyl (–COOH) groups, can create proton bridging channels that significantly reduce interfacial charge resistance and improve reaction rates.

Together, these strategies form a unified framework that clarifies the behavior of water systems’ protons and opens up the way for safer, faster and more efficient energy storage.

This study paves the way for next-generation proton-based aqueous batteries that combine safety and high performance.

By engineering hydrogen bond networks, future devices can advance applications from grid storage to portable electronics and electric vehicles with higher energy density, faster charging, longer lifespans.