Abstract
In order to evaluate the performance of the anion exchange membranes in a vanadium redox flow battery, a novel anion exchange polymer was synthesized via a three step process. Firstly, 1-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-5-mercaptotetrazole was grafted onto poly(pentafluorostyrene) by nucleophilic F/S exchange. Secondly, the tertiary amino groups were quaternized by using iodomethane to provide anion exchange sites. Finally, the synthesized polymer was blended with polybenzimidazole to be applied in vanadium redox flow battery. The blend membranes exhibited better single cell battery performance in terms of efficiencies, open circuit voltage test and charge-discharge cycling test than that of a Nafion 212 membrane. The battery performance results of synthesized blend membranes suggest that those novel anion exchange membranes are promising candidates for vanadium redox flow batteries.
Highlights
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFBs) are electrochemical energy storage systems producing electricity from chemical redox reactions
As an important component of the VRFBs, an ion exchange membrane, separates the two electrolytes to prevent the cross-mixing of the positive and negative electrolytes, while allowing the transport of ion species such as H+ when a cation-exchange membrane (CEM) is used as the separator material, or HSO4 − or SO4 2− when the two electrolyte compartments are separated by an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) to maintain charge balance [3]
Polymers 2020, 12, 915 and superior chemical stability; it has been found that Nafion® type membranes suffer from high vanadium ion cross-over, resulting in fast capacity fade when used in VRFBs [4,5]
Summary
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFBs) are electrochemical energy storage systems producing electricity from chemical redox reactions. VRFBs are among the most promising energy storage systems for renewable power generation, due to their high energy efficiency, flexible design, unlimited capacity and satisfactory safety [2]. Nafion® type membranes developed by DuPont have been widely employed as the CEMs for VRFBs due to their high ionic conductivity. Polymers 2020, 12, 915 and superior chemical stability; it has been found that Nafion® type membranes suffer from high vanadium ion cross-over, resulting in fast capacity fade when used in VRFBs [4,5]. Interest in using AEMs in various applications, such as alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells [6], alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis [7], ionic polymer membrane actuators [8], dye-sensitized solar cells [9], CO2 pumps [10] and redox flow batteries [11]
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