A Total Organic Aqueous Redox Flow Battery Employing Low Cost and Sustainable Methyl Viologen Anolyte and 4-HO-TEMPO Catholyte

Journal Article · Thu Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Advanced Energy Materials (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201501449· OSTI ID:1243190

Liu, Tianbiao L.; Wei, Xiaoliang; Nie, Zimin; Sprenkle, Vincent L.; Wang, Wei

The worldwide increasing energy demands and rising CO2 emissions motivate a search of new technologies to take advantage of renewable energy such as solar and wind. Rechargeable redox flow batteries (RFBs) with their high power density, high energy efficiency, scalability (up to MW and MWh), and safety features are one suitable option for integrating such energy sources and overcoming their intermittency. Source limitation and forbidden high system costs of current RFBs technologies impede wide implementation. Here we report a total organic aqueous redox flow battery (OARFB), using low cost and sustainable MV (anolyte) and 4-HO-TEMPO (catholyte), and benign NaCl supporting electrolyte. The electrochemical properties of the organic redox active materials were studied using cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk electrode voltammetry. The MV/4-HO-TEMPO ARFB has an exceptionally high cell voltage, 1.25 V. Prototypes of the organic ARFB can be operated at high current densities ranging from 20 to 100 mA/cm2, and deliver stable capacity for 100 cycles with nearly 100% coulombic efficiency. The overall technical characters of the MV/4-HO-TEMPO ARFB are very attractive for continuous technic development.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1243190
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-110796; TE1400000
• Journal Information: Advanced Energy Materials (Online), Vol. 6, Issue 3; ISSN 1614-6840
• Publisher: Wiley
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English