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Heteropoly acid negolytes for high-power-density aqueous redox flow batteries at low temperatures

Nature Energy volume 7, pages 417–426 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Operating aqueous redox flow batteries (ARFBs) at low temperatures is prohibited by limited solubility of redox-active materials, freezing electrolytes and sluggish reaction kinetics. Here we report a multi-electron heteropoly acid (H6P2W18O62, HPOM) negolyte that enables high-performance ARFBs at low temperatures. The proton (H+) in HPOM warrants a much higher solubility of polyoxometalates (POMs) (0.74 M at 25 °C and 0.5 M at −20 °C) compared with other cations (Li+/Na+/K+) owing to the strong solvation shell of H+ preventing precipitation. The HPOM also exhibits an exceptionally low freezing point and high conductivity owing to its high solubility and Grotthuss proton-conduction mechanism. These merits warrant HPOM as an ideal POM candidate for high-power-density low-temperature ARFB applications. Using a 0.5 M HPOM electrolyte, the ARFBs demonstrate power density (282.4 mW cm−2) and stability (79.6 Ah l−1negolyte at 160 mA cm−2 over 1,200 h without decay) at −20 °C, showing promising application potential under cold weather conditions.

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Fig. 1: Physico-chemical properties of the MPOM electrolyte at varying temperatures.
Fig. 2: Electrochemical properties of HPOM.
Fig. 3: Electrochemical stability of HPOM negolyte at 25 °C.
Fig. 4: Electrochemical performance of HPVB flow cells using 0.5 M HPOM (40 ml min−1).

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Data availability

The datasets analysed and generated during the current study are included in the paper and its Supplementary Information.

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from National Natural Science Foundation of China (51922114, received by Y.-C.L.) and a grant from the Research Grant Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project number T23-601/17-R, received by Y.-C.L.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrochemical Energy and Interfaces Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Fei Ai, Zengyue Wang, Nien-Chu Lai, Qingli Zou, Zhuojian Liang & Yi-Chun Lu

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Contributions

F.A. and Y.-C.L. conceived the project, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. Z.W. designed the flow battery cell. F.A. and Q.Z. conducted RRDE and UV–visible measurements. F. A. and Z.L. conducted OEMS measurements. F. A. and N.-C.L. conducted HPOM synthesis.

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Correspondence to Yi-Chun Lu.

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Competing interests

F.A. and Y.-C.L. are inventors with a patent application (US application number 17/681,016) on the flow battery electrolytes described herein. Z.W., Q.Z., Z.L. and N.-C.L. declare no competing interests.

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Nature Energy thanks Travis Anderson and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Ai, F., Wang, Z., Lai, NC. et al. Heteropoly acid negolytes for high-power-density aqueous redox flow batteries at low temperatures. Nat Energy 7, 417–426 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01011-y

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