As one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have received increasing attention owing to their attractive features for large-scale storage applications. However, their high production cost and relatively low energy efficiency still limit their feasibility. One of the critical components of VRFBs that can significantly influence the effectiveness and final cost is the electrode. Therefore, the development of an ideal electrocatalyst with low cost, high electrical conductivity, large active surface area, good chemical stability, and excellent electrochemical reaction activity toward the VO2+/VO2 + and V2+/V3+ redox reactions is essential for the design of VRFBs. Extensive research has been carried out on electrode modification routes for VRFBs to improve the energy density and overall performance for large-scale applications. In the present work, we reported the successful preparation of low-cost MoOX–reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (MoOX–rGO) acts as the electrode material for all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). MoOX–rGO composite exhibits excellent electrocatalytic redox reversibility for V3+/V2+ and VO2 +/VO2+ and higher anodic and cathodic peak currents than those of other individual MoOX and rGO samples. The voltage efficiency of the VRFB using the optimized MoOX–rGO nanocomposite electrode at 80 mA cm−2 is 82.14%, which is 4.23% and 13.56% higher than the VRFBs using the rGO-coated graphite felt electrode and the graphite felt electrode, respectively. It still shows the voltage efficiencies of 73.83% and 68.50% at 120 mA cm−2 and 140 mA cm−2, respectively, but other samples have no effective discharge. This improvement is attributed to the uniform distribution of MoOX nanoparticles on the rGO surface, avoiding the restacking of the rGO sheets and suppressing nanoparticle aggregation, which might increase the effective surface area and improve mass transport at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Furthermore, oxygen vacancies on MoOX, the high electrical conductivity of rGO, and the high content of oxygen functional groups act as active sites for the vanadium ion redox reaction. References W. Bayeh, G-Y. Lin, Y-C. Chang, D.M. Kabtamu, G-C. Chen, H-Y. Chen, K-C. Wang, Y-M. Wang, T-C. Chiang, H-C. Huang and C-H. Wang, ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng., (2020).Zhou, Y. Shen, J. Xi, X. Qiu and L. Chen, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 8, 15369- 15378 (2016).M. Kabtamu, J-Y. Chen, Y-C. Chang and C-H. Wang, J. Power Sources, 341, 270-279 (2017).Amini, J. Gostick and M.D. Pritzker, Adv. Funct. Mater., 30, 1910564 (2020).M. Kabtamu, J-Y. Chen, Y-C. Chang and C-H. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 4, 11472-11480 (2016).
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