High electro-catalytic graphite felt/MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> composite electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries

A mild and simple synthesis process for large-scale vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) energy storage systems is desirable. A graphite felt/MnO₂ (GF-MNO) composite electrode with excellent electrocatalytic activity towards VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ redox couples in a VRFB was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal process. The resulting GF-MNO electrodes possess improved electrochemical kinetic reversibility of the vanadium redox reactions compared to pristine GF electrodes, and the corresponding energy efficiency and discharge capacity at 150 mA cm^?2 are increased by 12.5% and 40%, respectively. The discharge capacity is maintained at 4.8 A h L^?1 at the ultrahigh current density of 250 mA cm^?2. Above all, 80% of the energy efficiency of the GFMNO composite electrodes is retained after 120 charge-discharge cycles at 150 mA cm^?2. Furthermore, these electrodes demonstrated that more evenly distributed catalytic active sites were obtained from the MnO₂ particles under acidic conditions. The proposed synthetic route is facile, and the raw materials are low cost and environmentally friendly. Therefore, these novel GFMNO electrodes hold great promise in large-scale vanadium redox flow battery energy storage systems.     

Composite Polybenzimidazole Membrane with High Capacity Retention for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Currently, energy storage technologies are becoming essential in the transition of replacing fossil fuels with more renewable electricity production means. Among storage technologies, redox flow batteries (RFBs) can represent a valid option due to their unique characteristic of decoupling energy storage from power output. To push RFBs further into the market, it is essential to include low-cost materials such as new generation membranes with low ohmic resistance, high transport selectivity, and long durability. This work proposes a composite membrane for vanadium RFBs and a method of preparation. The membrane was prepared starting from two polymers, meta-polybenzimidazole (6 μm) and porous polypropylene (30 μm), through a gluing approach by hot-pressing. In a vanadium RFB, the composite membrane exhibited a high energy efficiency (~84%) and discharge capacity (~90%) with a 99% capacity retention over 90 cycles at 120 mA·cm⁻², exceeding commercial Nafion^® NR212 (~82% efficiency, capacity drop from 90% to 40%) and Fumasep^® FAP-450 (~76% efficiency, capacity drop from 80 to 65%).     

3D porous V_2O_5 architectures for high-rate lithium storage

The discovery of novel electrode materials promises to unleash a number of technological advances in lithium-ion batteries. V_2O_5 is recognized as a high-performance cathode that capitalizes on the rich redox chemistry of vanadium to store lithium. To unlock the full potential of V_2O_5, nanotechnology solution and rational electrode design are used to imbue V_2O_5 with high energy and power density by addressing some of their intrinsic disadvantages in macroscopic crystal form. Here, we demonstrate a facile and environmental-friendly method to prepare nanorods-constructed 3D porous V_2O_5 architectures(3 D-V_2O_5)in large-scale. The 3D porous architecture is found to be responsible for the enhanced charge transfer kinetics and Li-ion diffusion rate of the 3D-V_2O_5 electrode. As the result, the 3D-V_2O_5 surpasses the conventional bulk V_2O_5 by showing enhanced discharge capacity and rate capability(delivering 154 and127 m Ah g~(-1) at 15 and 20 C, respectively).     

Non-aqueous lithium bromine battery of high energy density with carbon coated membrane

Flow batteries with high energy density and long cycle life have been pursued to advance the progress of energy storage and grid application. Non-aqueous batteries with wide voltage windows represent a promising technology without the limitation of water electrolysis, but they suffer from low electrolyte concentration and unsatisfactory battery performance. Here, a non-aqueous lithium bromine rechargeable battery is proposed, which is based on Br_2/Br~-and Li~+/Li as active redox pairs, with fast redox kinetics and good stability. The Li/Br battery combines the advantages of high output voltage(~3.1 V),electrolyte concentration(3.0 mol/L), maximum power density(29.1 m W/cm~2) and practical energy density(232.6 Wh/kg). Additionally, the battery displays a columbic efficiency(CE) of 90.0%, a voltage efficiency(VE) of 88.0% and an energy efficiency(EE) of 80.0% at 1.0 m A/cm~2 after continuously running for more than 1000 cycles, which is by far the longest cycle life reported for non-aqueous flow batteries.     

全钒液流电池碳电极材料的研究进展

近年来,全钒液流电池作为一种大规模储能装置,其电极材料得到了广泛的研究,并且获得了一定的进展.本文简述了全钒液流电池对电极材料的要求,综述了其电极材料的研究进展,重点介绍了碳电极及其改性方面的工作,并对其电极材料的发展趋势进行了展望.     

Two electron utilization of methyl viologen anolyte in nonaqueous organic redox flow battery

Methyl viologen(MV) as a bench-mark anolyte material has been frequently applied in aqueous organic redox flow batteries(AORFBs) towards large-scale renewable energy storage. However, only the first reduction of MV was utilized in aqueous electrolytes because of the insoluble MV~0 generated from the second reduction of MV. Herein, we report that methyl viologen with bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide counter anion, MVTFSI, can achieve two reversible reductions in a nonaqueous supporting electrolyte. Paired with(Ferrocenylmethyl)trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, FcNTFSI as catholyte, the MVTFS/FcNTFSI nonaqueous organic redox flow battery(NOARFB) can take advantage of either one electron or two electron storage of the methyl viologen moiety and provide theoretical energy density of 24.9 Wh/L and a cell voltage of up to 1.5 V. Using a highly conductive LiTFSI/CH_3CN supporting electrolyte and a porous Daramic separator, the NOARFB displayed excellent cycling performance, including up to a 68.3% energy efficiency at 40 mA/cm~2, and more than 88% total capacity retention after 100 cycles.     

Novel catalytic effects of Mn3O4 for all vanadium redox flow batteries

A new approach for enhancing the electrochemical performance of carbon felt electrodes by employing non-precious metal oxides is designed. The outstanding electro-catalytic activity and mechanical stability of Mn(3)O(4) are advantageous in facilitating the redox reaction of vanadium ions, leading to efficient operation of a vanadium redox flow battery.     

Recent developments in sol-gel based polymer electrolyte membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries – A review

The current importance of energy production from renewable sources stimulated interest in energy storage systems. Recent research has focused on developing vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) for large scale energy storage owing to their cost-effectiveness, flexible design, energy efficiency and long cycle life. Nafion the preferred membrane in VRFB systems has an overall cost of more than 11% in these systems. However, due to its drawbacks of high permeability and high cost limit its suitability for commercial use. Many researchers are therefore keen to develop new chemical designs for synthetic membranes, such as perfluorinated, partially fluorinated, hydrocarbon based and organic-inorganic composite membrane. The sol-gel process, which is mainly based on hydrolysis and condensation reaction offers the possibility of homogeneous preparation of membranes, leading to high proton conductivity and reduced vanadium ion permeability, thereby greatly increasing the cell efficiency. This review summarizes recent development in the synthesis and applications of sol-gel based proton exchange membranes for VRFB system, on which many researchers have been working in recent years. We also discuss critical research areas and the future development of cost-effective sol-gel based membranes for attractive energy storage systems.     

Evolution of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery in Electrode

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is a highly regarded technology for large-scale energy storage due to its outstanding features, such as scalability, efficiency, long lifespan, and site independence. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of its performance in carbon-based electrodes, along with a comprehensive review of the system‘s principles and mechanisms. It discusses potential applications, recent industrial involvement, and economic factors associated with VRFB technology. The study also covers the latest advancements in VRFB electrodes, including electrode surface modification and electrocatalyst materials, and highlights their effects on the VRFB system‘s performance. Additionally, the potential of two-dimensional material MXene to enhance electrode performance is evaluated, and the author concludes that MXenes offer significant advantages for use in high-power VRFB at a low cost. Finally, the paper reviews the challenges and future development of VRFB technology.     

A comprehensive understanding of the anionic redox chemistry in layered oxide cathodes for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs) have demonstrated great application prospects in large-scale energy storage systems and low-speed electric vehicles due to the cost effectiveness and abundant resources. Layered transition-metal oxides are recognized as one of the most attractive sodium-ion storage cathode candidates by virtue of their high compositional diversity, environmental friendliness, ease of synthesis, and promising theoretical capacities. The practicability, however, is still limited by the fact that the energy densities of most Na-storage layered oxide cathodes solely using the conventional cationic redox are not comparable to those of the lithium-ion storage counterparts. Recently, the strategy of activating anionic redox(O^2-/O^n-) which is popular in Li-rich layered materials has been successfully applied in oxide cathodes of SIBs to promote the energy density to a new level. It is interesting to note that excess Na is not the prerequisite to induce anionic redox in sodium oxides, indicating a new mechanism underlying Na-ion materials. Herein, the latest advances on the anionic redox chemistry in layered oxide cathodes for SIBs,including the fundamental theories, triggering strategies, and applicable cathode materials, are comprehensively reviewed.Moreover, the challenges(mainly O₂ release) facing anionic redox are discussed, and the possible remedies are outlined for future developments toward a highly reversible oxygen usage. We believe that this review can provide a valuable guidance for the exploration of high-energy layered oxide cathode materials of SIBs.     

Electrochemical performance of 5 kW all-vanadium redox flow battery stack with a flow frame of multi-distribution channels

In this paper, a flow frame with multi-distribution channels is designed. The electrolyte flow distribution in the graphite felt electrode is simulated to be uniform at some degree with the tool of a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package of Star-CCM+. A 5 kW-class vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) stack composed of 40 single cells is assembled. The electrochemical performance of the VRB stack is investigated. Under the applied current density of 60 mA cm^?2 during the charge and discharge processes, the current and energy efficiencies are delivered to be 93.9 and 80.8 %, respectively. A higher average output power of 7.2 kW can be achieved at the current density of 80 mA cm^?2 with a lower energy efficiency of 78.4 %. The studies of kW-class VRB stack can be beneficial to the development of large-scale energy storage.     

V2O5-anchored carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrochemical energy storage

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are coated with a 4-5 nm thin layer of V(2)O(5) by controlled hydrolysis of vanadium alkoxide. The resulting V(2)O(5)/CNT composite has been investigated for electrochemical activity with lithium ion, and the capacity value shows both faradaic and capacitive (nonfaradaic) contributions. At high rate (1 C), the capacitive behavior dominates the intercalation as 2/3 of the overall capacity value out of 2700 C/g is capacitive, while the remaining is due to Li-ion intercalation. These numbers are in agreement with the Trasatti plots and are corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies on the V(2)O(5)/CNTs electrode, which show 85% of vanadium in the +4 oxidation state after the discharge at 1 C rate. The cumulative high-capacity value is attributed to the unique property of the nano V(2)O(5)/CNTs composite, which provides a short diffusion path for Li(+)-ions and an easy access to vanadium redox centers besides the high conductivity of CNTs. The composite architecture exhibits both high power density and high energy density, stressing the benefits of using carbon substrates to design high performance supercapacitor electrodes.     

Chloride supporting electrolytes for all-vanadium redox flow batteries

This paper examines vanadium chloride solutions as electrolytes for an all-vanadium redox flow battery. The chloride solutions were capable of dissolving more than 2.3 M vanadium at varied valence states and remained stable at 0-50 °C. The improved stability appeared due to the formation of a vanadium dinuclear [V(2)O(3)·4H(2)O](4+) or a dinuclear-chloro complex [V(2)O(3)Cl·3H(2)O](3+) in the solutions over a wide temperature range. The all-vanadium redox flow batteries with the chloride electrolytes demonstrated excellent reversibility and fairly high efficiencies. Only negligible, if any, gas evolution was observed. The improved energy capacity and good performance, along with the ease in heat management, would lead to substantial reduction in capital cost and life-cycle cost, making the vanadium chloride redox flow battery a promising candidate for stationary applications.     

A Cost‐effective Nafion Composite Membrane as an Effective Vanadium‐Ion Barrier for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Ion exchange membranes play a key role in all vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The mostly available commercial membrane for VRFBs is Nafion. However, its disadvantages, such as high cost and severe vanadium‐ion permeation, become obstacles for large‐scale energy storage. It is thus crucial to develop an efficient membrane with low permeability of vanadium ions and low cost to promote commercial applications of VRFBs. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) has been employed as an additive to the Nafion 212 matrix and a composite membrane named rN212/GO obtained. The thickness of rN212/GO has been reduced to only 41 μm (compared with 50 μm Nafion 212), which indicates directly lower cost. Meanwhile, rN212/GO shows lower permeability of vanadium ions and area‐specific resistance compared to the Nafion 212 membrane due to the abundant oxygen‐containing functional groups of GO additives. The VRFB cells with the rN212/GO membrane show higher Coulombic efficiencies and lower capacity decay than those of VRFB cells with the Nafion 212 membrane. Therefore, the cost‐effective rN212/GO composite membrane is a promising alternative to suppress migration of vanadium ions across the membrane to set up VRFB cells with better performances.     

Facile preparation of core-shell Si@Li_4Ti_5O_(12) nanocomposite as large-capacity lithium-ion battery anode

As a promising alternative anode material,silicon(Si)presents a larger capacity than the commercial anode to achieve large capacity lithium-ion batteries.However,the application of pure Si as anode is hampered by limitations such as volume expansion,low conductivity and unstable solid electrolyte interphase.To break through these limitations,the core-shell Si@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)nanocomposite,which was prepared via in-situ self-assembly reaction and decompressive boiling fast concentration method,was proposed in this work.This anode combines the advantages of nano-sized Si particle and pure Li_4Ti_5O_(12)(LTO)coating layer,improving the performance of the lithium-ion batteries.The Si@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)anode displays a high initial discharge/charge specific capacity of 1756/1383 m Ah g~(-1)at 500 m A g~(-1)(representing high initial coulombic efficiency of 78.8%),a large rate capability(specific capacity of 620 m Ah g~(-1)at4000 m A g~(-1)),an outstanding cycling stability(reversible specific capacity of 883 m Ah g~(-1)after 150 cycles)and a low volume expansion rate(only 3.3%after 150 cycles).Moreover,the synthesis process shows the merits of efficiency,simplicity,and economy,providing a reliable method to fabricate large capacity Si@Li_4Ti_5O_(12)nanocomposite anode materials for practical lithium-ion batteries.     

Synergistic Catalysis of SnO2/Reduced Graphene Oxide for VO2+/VO2+ and V2+/V3+ Redox Reactions

In spite of their low cost, high activity, and diversity, metal oxide catalysts have not been widely applied in vanadium redox reactions due to their poor conductivity and low surface area. Herein, SnO₂/reduced graphene oxide (SnO₂/rGO) composite was prepared by a sol–gel method followed by high-temperature carbonization. SnO₂/rGO shows better electrochemical catalysis for both redox reactions of VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ and V²⁺/V³⁺ couples as compared to SnO₂ and graphene oxide. This is attributed to the fact that reduced graphene oxide is employed as carbon support featuring excellent conductivity and a large surface area, which offers fast electron transfer and a large reaction place towards vanadium redox reaction. Moreover, SnO₂ has excellent electrochemical activity and wettability, which also boost the electrochemical kinetics of redox reaction. In brief, the electrochemical properties for vanadium redox reactions are boosted in terms of diffusion, charge transfer, and electron transport processes systematically. Next, SnO₂/rGO can increase the energy storage performance of cells, including higher discharge electrolyte utilization and lower electrochemical polarization. At 150 mA cm⁻², the energy efficiency of a modified cell is 69.8%, which is increased by 5.7% compared with a pristine one. This work provides a promising method to develop composite catalysts of carbon materials and metal oxide for vanadium redox reactions.     

A Membrane‐Free Redox Flow Battery with Two Immiscible Redox Electrolytes

Flexible and scalable energy storage solutions are necessary for mitigating fluctuations of renewable energy sources. The main advantage of redox flow batteries is their ability to decouple power and energy. However, they present some limitations including poor performance, short‐lifetimes, and expensive ion‐selective membranes as well as high price, toxicity, and scarcity of vanadium compounds. We report a membrane‐free battery that relies on the immiscibility of redox electrolytes and where vanadium is replaced by organic molecules. We show that the biphasic system formed by one acidic solution and one ionic liquid, both containing quinoyl species, behaves as a reversible battery without any membrane. This proof‐of‐concept of a membrane‐free battery has an open circuit voltage of 1.4 V with a high theoretical energy density of 22.5 Wh L⁻¹, and is able to deliver 90 % of its theoretical capacity while showing excellent long‐term performance (coulombic efficiency of 100 % and energy efficiency of 70 %).     

Mn2+浓度对钒液流电池正极液的电化学性能影响

电解液中金属离子会影响钒液流电池的电化学性能。本文采用循环伏安法和电化学阻抗谱研究了正极液中Mn2+浓度对V髨/V(Ⅳ)电对的氧化还原过程影响规律,发现Mn2+在正极液中没有发生副反应,但严重影响V髨/V(Ⅳ)的反应活性、电极反应可逆性、离子扩散与电荷转移反应等电化学性能。循环伏安测试结果表明Mn2+浓度为0.04-0.13 g.L-1时,V髨/V(Ⅳ)电对电极反应可逆性和反应活性较高,钒离子扩散系数由参照溶液中的8.89×10-7-1.098×10-6增大至1.302×10-6-1.800×10-6 cm2.s-1,提高了-60%;电化学阻抗测试结果表明Mn2+浓度为0-0.04 g.L-1时,V髨/V(Ⅳ)电对电极反应阻抗和界面阻抗均较参照溶液中的增加不明显,但当Mn2+浓度增至0.07 g.L-1时,上述阻抗值较参照溶液增大了25%-28%。基于二者结果,Mn2+对电极反应有不同程度的负面影响,但是适当的Mn2+浓度有利于钒离子的扩散。     

高热稳定性、 高比表面积低铈型铈锆钇储氧材料的制备及其性能研究

采用氨水 碳酸铵混合沉淀剂制备了低铈型铈锆钇三组分储氧材料. 采用X射线衍射、 BET、 氧脉冲吸附和H2程序升温还原(H2-TPR)等技术对材料的晶体结构、 比表面积、 孔结构、 储氧性能和还原性能进行了研究. 结果表明， 该材料经873 K焙烧4 h后比表面积达到116.8 m2/g, 孔容达到0.30 cm3/g, 经1 273 K老化10 h后, 比表面积和孔容仍然保持在68.1 m2/g和 0.22 cm3/g. 由XRD结果可知, 材料的物相组成为四方相的Zr0.84 Ce0.16 O2, 在热处理过程中物相结构稳定. 氧脉冲吸附和程序升温还原的结果表明, 材料储氧性能保持较好.     

质子交换膜对钒氧化还原液流电池性能的影响

采用溶液接枝聚合法制备了一种新型的质子交换膜PVDF-g-PSSA, 测定了PVDF-g-PSSA膜、Nafion 117 膜和PE01均相膜的离子交换能力和电导率, 并分别研究了以这3种膜为隔膜的钒电池的电化学性能. 实验结果表明, PVDF-g-PSSA膜具有优良的质子电导率和离子交换能力, 室温下其离子交换能力和质子电导率分别为1.13 mmol/g和3.22×10-2 S/cm, 在不同的充放电电流密度下, 以PVDF-g-PSSA膜为隔膜的钒电池的库仑效率和能量效率明显高于Nafion 117膜和PE01均相膜为隔膜的钒电池; PVDF-g-PSSA膜阻钒离子的渗透性能与PE01均相膜基本一致, 都明显优于Nafion 117膜的阻钒离子渗透能力.