Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coated lead negative plates for hybrid energy storage systems

Herein, we report Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating on to lead negative plates as a hybrid electrode material for lead-acid batteries and supercapacitors. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating on to negative plate addresses the issue of sulfation at negative plate in a lead-acid cell. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating on to the conventional negative plates is wind up by electropolymerization technique. 2 V/2.1 A h lead-acid cells assemble with Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating negative electrodes show ∼25% increase in initial discharge capacity, excellent cycle performance at 5 h rate, lower impedance, reduce hydrogen evolution and boost charge acceptance in relation to the conventional lead-acid cell. The Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) coating lead-acid cells show 20% improvement in C/5 rate and 107% in high rate partial state of charge cycling. The specific capacitance of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) in 4.5 M H2SO4 medium is about 105 F g−1 with an excellent cycle life of over 20, 000 cycles at 2 A g−1. The superior performance is due to fast kinetics of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) in sulfuric acid electrolyte

Multilayered Zn-Ni alloy coatings for better corrosion protection of mild steel

A simple aqueous electrolyte for the deposition of anti-corrosive Zn-Ni alloy coatings was optimized using conventional Hull cell method. The corrosion protection value of the electrodeposited coatings at a current density (c.d.) range of 2.0–5.0 A dm−2 has been testified in 5 wt% NaCl solution, as representative corrosion medium. The electrochemical behavior of the coatings towards corrosion was related to its surface topography, elemental composition and phase structure using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, respectively. Among the monolithic coatings developed at different c.d.’s, the coating obtained at 3.0 A dm−2 was found to be the best with least corrosion current (icorr) value. Further, the corrosion protection efficacy of the monolayer coatings were improved to many folds through multilayer coating approach, by modulating the cyclic cathode current densities (CCCD’s). The composition modulated multilayer (CMM) Zn-Ni alloy coating with 60 layers, developed from the combination of CCCD’s 3.0 and 5.0 A dm−2 was found to be the best with 3 fold enhancement in corrosion protection efficiency. The formation of multilayer coatings was confirmed using cross-sectional SEM, and the experimental results are discussed with tables and figures

Nanostructured 3D (three dimensional) electrode architectures of silicon for high-performance Li-ion batteries

The radical change in the global economy demands lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with improved energy density to meet the needs of existing and anticipated applications in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage, etc. Among the numerous anode materials reported during the last several decades as a potential alternative to graphite, silicon is considered as the most promising material with high theoretical capacity (4200 mAh g- 1) and moderate operating voltage (< 0.5 V vs. Li/Li+). Silicon, being the second most abundant element on earth’s crust (28% of the crust’s mass) can serve as cost-effective and environmentally benign anode material for LIBs than the other anodes used in commercial LIBs. Silicon anodes have issues of volume expansion-contraction during cycling, which causes (nano)material pulverization and subsequently capacity fade. The poor capacity retention and cycling instability of silicon, impede its deployment as anode material for LIBs. Herein, we depict the fundamental material challenges of silicon anode and their mitigation strategies. This chapter presents the nano-engineering efforts to achieve a rational design of nanostructured silicon electrodes with excellent electrochemical performance and stability by giving a special emphasis on nanostructured three dimensional electrode architectures of silicon. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Corrosion Resistant Polypyrrole Coated Lead-Alloy Positive Grids for Advanced Lead-Acid Batteries

We herein report a method for reducing lead-alloy positive grid corrosion in lead acid batteries by developing a polypyrrole (ppy) coating on to the surface of lead-alloy grids through potentiostatic polymerization technique. The experimental results demonstrate that the presence of ppy coating significantly enhances the corrosion resistance and inhibits the oxygen evolution rate as compare to bare grids. C-rate studies of 2 V/2.6 Ah lead-acid cells show ∼15–20% improvement in capacity at low charge-discharge rates (C/20- C/5) and ∼10% at high C rates (C/2 and 3C) for the cells with ppy coating grids in relation to conventional lead-acid cells

TiO₂–CeO₂/Ag Composite as Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

Electrochemical energy technologies play a pivotal role in the quest for a sustainable and cleaner future owing to their remarkable potential to revolutionize the way we generate, store, and utilize energy. In this context, the present study explores the synthesis and characterization of TiO2–CeO2 composites having surface-dispersed silver nanoparticles (TiO2–CeO2/Ag) as an efficient electrode material for supercapacitor application. The developed electrode materials are systematically characterized by using different techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of the electrode materials is assessed by using cyclic voltammetry, galvanometric charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The obtained results show that the electrode material with 2 wt % Ag distributed over TiO2–CeO2 composites (TiO2–CeO2/Ag 2X) is the best material with the highest specific capacitance of 996 F/g and excellent cycling stability even after 2500 cycles. The obtained results give clear credence to the idea that the TiO2–CeO2/Ag composites could serve as an efficient electrode material for energy storage applications