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Brennan S, Smeu M. Voltage prediction of vanadium redox flow batteries from first principles. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2024; 36:175201. [PMID: 38237185 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ad201b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Global energy demand has been increasing for decades, which has created a necessity for large scale energy storage solutions for renewable energy sources. We studied the voltage of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) with density functional theory (DFT) and a newly developed technique usingab initiomolecular dynamics (AIMD). DFT was used to create cluster models to calculate the voltage of VRFBs. However, DFT is not suited for capturing the dynamics and interactions in a liquid electrolyte, leading to the need for AIMD, which is capable of accurately modeling such things. The molarities and densities of all systems were carefully considered to match experimental conditions. With the use of AIMD, we calculated a voltage of 1.23 V, which compares well with the experimental value of 1.26 V. The techniques developed using AIMD for voltage calculations will be useful for the investigation of potential future battery technologies or as a screening process for additives to make improvements to currently available batteries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Brennan
- Department of Physics, and Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, United States of America
| | - Manuel Smeu
- Department of Physics, and Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, United States of America
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Zhang X, Ye X, Valencia A, Liu F, Ao K, Yue X, Shi J, Daoud WA, Zhou X. Asymmetric Chemical Potential Activated Nanointerfacial Electric Field for Efficient Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries. ACS NANO 2023; 17:21799-21812. [PMID: 37862692 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c07732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Constructing active sites with enhanced intrinsic activity and accessibility in a confined microenvironment is critical for simultaneously upgrading the round-trip efficiency and lifespan of all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) yet remains under-explored. Here, we present nanointerfacial electric fields (E-fields) featuring outstanding intrinsic activity embodied by binary Mo2C-Mo2N sublattice. The asymmetric chemical potential on both sides of the reconstructed heterogeneous interface imposes the charge movement and accumulation near the atomic-scale N-Mo-C binding region, eliciting the configuration of an accelerator-like E-field from Mo2N to Mo2C sublattice. Supported with theoretical calculations and intrinsic activity tests, the improved vanadium ion adsorption behavior and charge-transfer process at the nanointerfacial sites were further substantiated, hence expediting the electrochemical kinetics. Accordingly, the pronounced promotion is achieved in the resultant flow battery, yielding an energy efficiency of 77.7% and an extended lifespan of 1000 cycles at 300 mA cm-2, outperforming flow cells with conventional single catalysts in most previous reports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyang Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Lithium-ion Batteries and Mesoporous Materials, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Xiaolin Ye
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Lithium-ion Batteries and Mesoporous Materials, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Agnes Valencia
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Fei Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Kelong Ao
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore
| | - Xian Yue
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Jihong Shi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Walid A Daoud
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Xuelong Zhou
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Lithium-ion Batteries and Mesoporous Materials, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
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Loktionov P, Pichugov R, Konev D, Petrov M, Pustovalova A, Antipov A. Operando UV/Vis spectra deconvolution for comprehensive electrolytes analysis of vanadium redox flow battery. J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Oldenburg FJ, Nilsson E, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L. Tackling Capacity Fading in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Amphoteric Polybenzimidazole/Nafion Bilayer Membranes. CHEMSUSCHEM 2019; 12:2620-2627. [PMID: 30933413 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201900546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Vanadium flow batteries are among the most promising technologies for stationary energy storage applications if their cost of storage can be further decreased. Capacity fading resulting from imbalanced vanadium crossover is a key operating cost component. Herein, a new approach is reported to avoid this cost by balancing electrolyte transport with amphoteric bilayer Nafion/meta-polybenzimidazole membranes. Within this system, the anion- and cation-exchange capacity can be tuned in a straightforward manner by changing the thickness of the respective polymer layer to balance electrolyte transport for a given current density. At high current densities, a net migrative flux of vanadium directed towards the positive side is observed owing to the higher average charge of vanadium ions present at the negative side. The coulombic repulsion between the vanadium ions and the positive charges in the membrane counteracts this migrative transport and can reverse the direction of the net vanadium flux. For a technically relevant current density of 120 mA cm-2 , a PBI thickness of 3-4 μm is required to balance the vanadium crossover and to minimize capacity fading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio J Oldenburg
- Electrochemistry Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstr. 111, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Nilsson
- Electrochemistry Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstr. 111, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Thomas J Schmidt
- Electrochemistry Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstr. 111, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lorenz Gubler
- Electrochemistry Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institut, Forschungsstr. 111, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland
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Jiang Z, Klyukin K, Miller K, Alexandrov V. Mechanistic Theoretical Investigation of Self-Discharge Reactions in a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3976-3983. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b10980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Jiang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
| | - Konstantin Klyukin
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
| | - Kaellen Miller
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
| | - Vitaly Alexandrov
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
- Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
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Nguyen TD, Whitehead A, Wai N, Ong SJH, Scherer GG, Xu ZJ. Equilibrium and Dynamic Absorption of Electrolyte Species in Cation/Anion Exchange Membranes of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries. CHEMSUSCHEM 2019; 12:1076-1083. [PMID: 30523669 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201802522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) rely on ion exchange membranes (IEMs) to separate the positive and negative compartments while maintaining electrical neutrality of the cell, by allowing the transport of ionic charge carriers. Cation exchange membranes (CEMs) and anion exchange membranes (AEMs), the two principal types of IEM, have both been employed in VRFBs. The performance of these IEMs can be influenced by the absorption of species from the electrolyte. In this study, a typical commercial CEM (Nafion 117) and AEM (FAP 450), were examined with respect to vanadium uptake, after exposure to electrolyte at different states of charge. The two types of membrane were found to behave very differently, with the AEM showing very high selectivity for VV , which resulted in a significant increase in area-specific resistivity. In contrast, the CEM absorbed VII more strongly than vanadium in other oxidation states. These findings are essential for the development of an effective membrane for VRFB applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tam D Nguyen
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N4.1-02-27, 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- Energy Research Institute @ NTU, Nanyang Technological University, #06-04, 1 CleanTech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, S2-B3a-01, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
| | - Adam Whitehead
- redT energy (UK) Ltd., Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham, RG41 2QZ, UK
| | - Nyunt Wai
- Energy Research Institute @ NTU, Nanyang Technological University, #06-04, 1 CleanTech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
| | - Samuel Jun Hoong Ong
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N4.1-02-27, 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE), Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW), Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| | - Günther G Scherer
- Labor für Elektrochemie, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Zhichuan J Xu
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N4.1-02-27, 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- Energy Research Institute @ NTU, Nanyang Technological University, #06-04, 1 CleanTech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE), Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW), Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore, 138602, Singapore
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Hydration structures of vanadium/oxovanadium cations in the presence of sulfuric acid: A molecular dynamics simulation study. Chem Eng Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2018.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Oldenburg FJ, Bon M, Perego D, Polino D, Laino T, Gubler L, Schmidt TJ. Revealing the role of phosphoric acid in all-vanadium redox flow batteries with DFT calculations and in situ analysis. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:23664-23673. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp04517h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Phosphoric acid improves the stability of vanadium redox flow battery electrolyte and enhances the kinetics of the negative electrode.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Bon
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry
- Zürich
- 8093 Zürich
- Switzerland
| | - Daniele Perego
- Electrochemistry Laboratory
- Paul Scherrer Institut
- 5232 Villigen PSI
- Switzerland
| | - Daniela Polino
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences
- ETH Zurich
- c/o USI Campus
- Via Giuseppe Buffi 13
- 6900 Lugano
| | - Teodoro Laino
- IBM Research-Zurich
- Saumerstrasse, 8
- 8803 Rueschlikon
- Switzerland
| | - Lorenz Gubler
- Electrochemistry Laboratory
- Paul Scherrer Institut
- 5232 Villigen PSI
- Switzerland
| | - Thomas J. Schmidt
- Electrochemistry Laboratory
- Paul Scherrer Institut
- 5232 Villigen PSI
- Switzerland
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry
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