The synergism of imidazole (IMZ) and poly(ethylene glycol) 600 (PEG) for zinc corrosion inhibition in 3 mol L(-1) KOH solution was investigated using a combination of electrochemical and gravimetric methods, and the surface morphology of the zinc was observed by scanning electron microscopy. It is found that there is a synergistic effect between IMZ and PEG for the zinc corrosion inhibition. The difference in molecular structure, ring for IMZ and chain for PEG, and in binding atoms with zinc, nitrogen in IMZ and oxygen in PEG, contributes to this synergistic effect. IMZ inhibits zinc corrosion by mainly depressing the anodic reaction, whereas PEG by depressing the cathodic reaction. The storage performance of the zinc-manganese dioxide batteries using IMZ and/or PEG as inhibitors was determined by discharge test, with a comparison of the battery using mercury as the inhibitor. The battery containing 0.05% IMZ + 0.05% PEG exhibits better performance than the mercury-containing battery, especially when discharged at high rate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.