Towards Low Resistance Nonaqueous Redox Flow Batteries
Name
J. Electrochem. Soc.-2017-Milshtein-A2487-99.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.63 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
a2a50d6d28a51e6a877772a6ef0b3edb
Author(s)
Milshtein, Jarrod D
Barton, John L
Carney, Thomas J
Kowalski, Jeffrey A
Darling, Robert M
Brushett, Fikile R
Date Issued
2017
Journal
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Publisher
The Electrochemical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. All rights reserved. Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NAqRFBs) are a promising, but nascent, concept for cost-effective grid-scale energy storage. While most studies report new active molecules and proof-of-concept prototypes, few discuss cell design. The direct translation of aqueous RFB design principles to nonaqueous systems is hampered by a lack of materials-specific knowledge, especially concerning the increased viscosities and decreased conductivities associated with nonaqueous electrolytes. To guide NAqRFB reactor design, recent techno-economic analyses have established an area specific resistance (ASR) target of <5 Ω cm2. Here, we employ a state-of-the-art vanadium flow cell architecture, modified for compatibility with nonaqueous electrolytes, and a model ferrocene-based redox couple to investigate the feasibility of achieving this target ASR. We identify and minimize sources of resistive loss for various active species concentrations, electrolyte compositions, flow rates, separators, and electrode thicknesses via polarization and impedance spectroscopy, culminating in the demonstration of a cell ASR of ca. 1.7 Ω cm2. Further, we validate performance scalability using dynamically similar cells with a ten-fold difference in active areas. This work demonstrates that, with appropriate cell engineering, low resistance nonaqueous reactors can be realized, providing promise for the cost-competitiveness of future NAqRFBs.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0741712JES
