Construction and application of an On-line Flow Cell ICP-OES setup for real time dissolution detection

By informed design novel high-surface area, low volume flow cells were designed for high-throughput detection of chemical and electrochemical dissolution products of energy storage materials found in zinc-air batteries, including current collectors and bifunctional catalysts. Novel flow cells were fabricated by stereolithography to realise complex flow channels which allowed efficient transport of dissolution products from the working electrode. Due to appropriate construction material selection, the 3Dprinted flow cells could withstand concentrated alkaline solutions . Routine analysis in 1 M KOH electrolytes were realised by adapting an ICP-OES to withstand harsh alkaline conditions, providing real-time detection limits below 1 ng s-1 cm-2. Positive electrode current collector candidates for alkaline zinc-air batteries were investigated for stability in 1 M KOH as function of potential region and galvanostatic charging currents within relevant for practical energy storage applications. A range of nickelsubstituted cobalt oxides NixCo3-xO4 bifunctional electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries were synthesised and characterised by PXRD, SEM and cyclic voltammetry. With online dissolution analysis, the stability of the materials were assessed as a function of potential and pH. Nickel substitution was found to affect the onset of cobalt dissolution, and a correlation between nickel doping, dissolution magnitude of cobalt and catalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reactions was found

Mg/Zn metal-air primary batteries using silk fibroin-ionic liquid polymer electrolytes

Batteries are utilized in a multitude of devices encountered in our daily lives. Here we describe a comparative study of Magnesium-air and Zinc-air primary batteries using silk fibroin-ionic liquid polymer electrolytes (composed of Bombyx mori silk fibroin and choline nitrate). The ionic conductivity of the films was of the order of mS cm−1 which is sufficient to satisfy the conductivity requirements for many battery applications, the open circuit voltages (V) for the Mg 1:1 SF:IL and 1:3 SF:IL batteries just after fabrication were ca. 1.8 and 1.7 V, respectively; the 1:1 SF:IL battery had a capacity of 0.84 mAh cm−2, whereas the 1:3 SF:IL battery had a capacity of 0.68 mAh cm−2. The open circuit voltages (V) for the Zn 1:1 SF:IL and 1:3 SF:IL batteries were in the range of 1.3 and 1.2 V just after fabrication; the 1:3 SF:IL battery displayed a capacity of 0.96 mAh cm−2 and the 1:3 SF:IL battery displayed a capacity of 0.72 mAh cm−2. Integration of the PE and substitution of the carbon cloth electrodes with degradable materials would offer routes to production of transient primary batteries helping to address the global issue of electronic waste (e-waste)

2021 roadmap for sodium-ion batteries

Abstract: Increasing concerns regarding the sustainability of lithium sources, due to their limited availability and consequent expected price increase, have raised awareness of the importance of developing alternative energy-storage candidates that can sustain the ever-growing energy demand. Furthermore, limitations on the availability of the transition metals used in the manufacturing of cathode materials, together with questionable mining practices, are driving development towards more sustainable elements. Given the uniformly high abundance and cost-effectiveness of sodium, as well as its very suitable redox potential (close to that of lithium), sodium-ion battery technology offers tremendous potential to be a counterpart to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in different application scenarios, such as stationary energy storage and low-cost vehicles. This potential is reflected by the major investments that are being made by industry in a wide variety of markets and in diverse material combinations. Despite the associated advantages of being a drop-in replacement for LIBs, there are remarkable differences in the physicochemical properties between sodium and lithium that give rise to different behaviours, for example, different coordination preferences in compounds, desolvation energies, or solubility of the solid–electrolyte interphase inorganic salt components. This demands a more detailed study of the underlying physical and chemical processes occurring in sodium-ion batteries and allows great scope for groundbreaking advances in the field, from lab-scale to scale-up. This roadmap provides an extensive review by experts in academia and industry of the current state of the art in 2021 and the different research directions and strategies currently underway to improve the performance of sodium-ion batteries. The aim is to provide an opinion with respect to the current challenges and opportunities, from the fundamental properties to the practical applications of this technology