Abstract
In an all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), redox reaction occurs on the fiber surface of the graphite felts. Therefore, the VRFB performance highly depends on the characteristics of the graphite felts. Although atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) have been applied for surface modification of graphite felt electrode in VRFBs for the enhancement of electrochemical reactivity, the influence of APPJ plasma reactivity and working temperature (by changing the flow rate) on the VRFB performance is still unknown. In this work, the performance of the graphite felts with different APPJ plasma reactivity and working temperatures, changed by varying the flow rates (the conditions are denoted as APPJ temperatures hereafter), was analyzed and compared with those treated with sulfuric acid. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the APPJ treatment led to an increase in O-/N-containing functional groups on the GF surface to ~21.0% as compared to ~15.0% for untreated GF and 18.0% for H2SO4-treated GF. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the surface morphology of graphite felt electrodes was still smooth, and no visible changes were detected after oxidation in the sulfuric acid or after APPJ treatment. The polarization measurements indicated that the APPJ treatment increased the limiting current densities from 0.56 A·cm−2 for the GFs treated by H2SO4 to 0.64, 0.68, and 0.64 A·cm−2, respectively, for the GFs APPJ-treated at 450, 550, and 650 °C, as well as reduced the activation overpotential when compared with the H2SO4-treated electrode. The electrochemical charge/discharge measurements showed that the APPJ treatment temperature of 550 °C gave the highest energy efficiency of 83.5% as compared to 72.0% with the H2SO4 treatment.
Highlights
The hydrophilicity of the graphite felts (GFs) can be further enhanced by atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) treatment
The GF electrodes for an all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) were developed by
The obtained voltage dropped to lower values when the treatment temperature was further increased to 650 ◦ C
Summary
Renewable energy sources have attracted much attention due to the need for a reduction in CO2 emissions caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are intermittent and fluctuate depending on the weather; as a result, there is a requirement of energy storage systems to stabilize the power output of renewable energy sources for robust energy management [1,2]. Several types of energy storage systems have been developed to increase the energy capacity and roundtrip efficiency, as well as reduce the cost. The self-discharge rate of the energy storage system is an important factor in large-scale energy storage, because a high self-discharge rate decreases the backup time of the energy storage system and the energy efficiency
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