Aqueous Battery Electrolyte Research

An aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) uses a water-based electrolyte. The electrolyte is the liquid that lets ions move between the two electrodes.

How is it different from lithium-ion?

• Many lithium-ion batteries use flammable organic solvents.
• An AZIB uses water instead.
• Its anode is made of zinc.
• Zinc is a sustainable metal, and it keeps the cell affordable and safe.

What is the memory hook?

Think “water inside, zinc anode”. Water is the safer liquid.

Three problems have blocked their commercial use. All three happen at the zinc surface.

What are the three problems?

• Zinc dendrites. These are thin zinc spikes that grow during charging.
• Hydrogen evolution. Water splits and gives off hydrogen gas.
• Corrosion. The zinc surface slowly wears away.

What is the common cause?

Water molecules trigger these side reactions. They reduce battery life and performance.

What is the memory hook?

Think “spikes, gas, rust”. Water causes all three.

BDIM is a new electrolyte additive. Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, developed it.

What are the key facts?

• INST is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Dr. Ramendra Sundar Dey led the research.
• It was published in the journal ACS Electrochemistry.
• Its full name is 1,3-bis(1,3-dicarboxypropyl)-1H-imidazole-3-ium chloride.
• The report appeared on 29 June 2026.

What is the memory hook?

Think “BDIM, Mohali, additive for zinc”.

BDIM works at one thin layer of the battery. That layer is the Inner Helmholtz Plane (IHP). It is the region next to the zinc surface where the reactions happen.

What does it do there?

• Its molecule has many oxygen and nitrogen sites.
• These sites bind strongly to zinc.
• During operation it sticks to the negatively charged zinc surface.
• It pushes water molecules away from that surface.

What changes as a result?

• Less hydrogen evolution.
• Less corrosion.
• Fewer dendrites, so zinc deposits more evenly.

What is the memory hook?

Think “push the water away”. No water, no side reactions.

The team used two tools together. One was an ultramicroelectrode (UME). The other was fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV).

What do these tools do?

• A UME is a tiny electrode, under 50 micrometres in size.
• FSCV measures how charge and mass move during reactions.
• Together they showed how zinc deposits on the surface.
• With BDIM present, the charge-transfer process shifted to lower scan rates.

What is the memory hook?

Think “tiny electrode, fast scan”. They watched zinc form.

Small changes in the liquid can improve a whole battery. BDIM works at the interface, so the main battery design stays the same.

Where could it help?

• Renewable energy storage.
• Electricity grids.
• Backup power systems.
• Longer battery life also lowers maintenance cost.

What should you remember?

The report describes promise, not a finished product. Large-scale use still needs to be shown.

What is the memory hook?

Think “one fix at the surface, many uses”.

Four mix-ups come up again and again.

What are the traps?

• Which battery? Aqueous zinc-ion, not lithium-ion.
• Which institute? INST, Mohali, not CECRI.
• What is BDIM? An electrolyte additive, not an electrode.
• What is the UME? A measuring tool, not a battery part.

How do you remember them?

Think “BDIM adds, UME measures”.