Volume 38: Energy Transitions toward Carbon Neutrality: Part I

Reduced-Graphene-Oxide-Modified Nickel Foam as Anode Electrode for Increased Performance of a Non-aqueous Thermally Regenerative Flow Battery Yichao An, Fang Zhou, Yu Shi, Liang Zhang, Jun Li, Qian Fu, Xun Zhu, Qiang Liao

Abstract

Non-aqueous thermally regenerative flow battery (TRFB) has shown great promise to convert low-grade waste heat into electricity for its high circuit voltage and high power density. Developing a reasonable porous anode electrode is essential for the fluid-solid interaction of the anolyte. In this study, a reduced-graphene-oxide-modified nickel foam (RGO/NF_T) was developed to optimize the anode electrode structure and hopefully obtain a competitive performance of TRFB. It was demonstrated that the RGO/NF_T as the anode electrode with better wettability and a larger specific area was beneficial for the electricity generation of TRFB. TRFB using relatively low-cost untreated nickel foam as anode (TRFB-NF) obtained a maximum power density of 105.7 W/m2, which was similar with that of TRFBs using RVC anode. A further 21% increase in the maximum power density was found in TRFB-RGO/NF_T (127.9 W/m2). Moreover, the discharging time was extended by 78% and the energy density was improved by 165% in TRFB-RGO/NF_T, in comparison with the TRFB-NF. The results indicated that RGO/NF_T could be a potential anode electrode for TRFBs having the competitive performance in future practical application.

Keywords thermally regenerative flow battery, non-aqueous, reduced graphene oxide, maximal power generation