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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Zincate-Blocking-Functionalized Polysulfone Separators for Secondary Zn–MnO 2 Batteries

Alkaline zinc–manganese dioxide (Zn–MnO 2 ) batteries are well suited for grid storage applications because of their inherently safe, aqueous electrolyte and established materials supply chain, resulting in low production costs. With recent advances in the development of Cu/Bi-stabilized birnessite cathodes capable of the full 2-electron capacity equivalent of MnO 2 (617 mA h/g), there is a need for selective separators that prevent zincate (Zn(OH) 4 ) 2– transport from the anode to the cathode during cycling, as this electrode system fails in the presence of dissolved zinc. In this work, we present the synthesis of N-butylimidazolium-functionalized polysulfone (NBI-PSU)-based separators and evaluate their ability to selectively transport hydroxide over zincate. We then examine their impact on the cycling of high depth of discharge Zn/(Cu/Bi–MnO 2 ) batteries when inserted in between the cathode and anode. Initially, we establish our membranes’ selectivity by performing zincate and hydroxide diffusion tests, showing a marked improvement in zincate-blocking (D Zn (cm 2 /min): 0.17 ± 0.04 × 10 –6 for 50-PSU, our most selective separator vs 2.0 ± 0.8 × 10 –6 for Cellophane 350P00 and 5.7 ± 0.8 × 10 –6 for Celgard 3501), while maintaining similar crossover rates for hydroxide (D OH (cm 2 /min): 9.4 ± 0.1 × 10 –6 for 50-PSU vs 17 ± 0.5 × 10 –6 for Cellophane 350P00 and 6.7 ± 0.6 × 10 –6 for Celgard 3501). We then implement our membranes into cells and observe an improvement in cycle life over control cells containing only the commercial separators (cell lifetime extended from 21 to 79 cycles).

crossover↗
NASA NTRS1994

Battery Definition for the Mars Environmental Survey Mission (MESUR) Pathfinder

Silver-zinc (Ag-Zn) battery technology has been baselined as the energy storage system for the MESUR mission. The mission profile will require the operation of this battery in a manner not usually seen for this technology. In particular, the combination of storage time followed by multiple cycles as a function of fluctuating temperatures and charge/discharge rates, and limited available time for charging has not been previously demonstrated.

Ag-Zn↗
DOE OSTI2022

Polyvinyl alcohol coating induced preferred crystallographic orientation in aqueous zinc battery anodes

The development of rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries is mainly hindered by the Zn anode, which suffers from dendrite growth, corrosion, hydrogen evolution, and surface passivation. Herein, a thin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating layer on Zn anode has enabled dendrite-free, long-life aqueous Zn batteries by effectively regulating the interfacial ion diffusion and inducing the homogeneous Zn nucleation and deposition of stacked plates with preferentially crystallographic orientation along (002) Zn planes. The PVA@Zn anode achieved an ultralong cycle lifespan of thousands of hours at 0.25 and 1 mA cm -2 . Outstanding durability under a deep cycling capacity (5 mA h cm -2 ), high current density (10 mA cm -2 ), and long duration conditions were achieved. The superior cyclability of PVA@Zn anode was also demonstrated in PVA@Zn//V 2 O 5 full cells. In conclusion, the insights of PVA induced Zn deposition with preferred crystal orientation and interfacial regulation shed light on the future development of stable Zn anodes.

Crystallographic orientation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Potential–Dependent BDAC Adsorption on Zinc Enabling Selective Suppression of Zinc Corrosion for Energy Storage Applications

Utility-scale zinc (Zn) batteries are a promising solution to address the problem of intermittency of renewable energy sources; however, Zn-metal anodes in these batteries suffer from capacity loss due to spontaneous corrosion of the Zn especially when high-surface area anode configurations are employed. Additionally, Zn dendrites are known to form during battery charging limiting the cycle-life of these batteries. Electrolyte additives have been explored that prevent aforementioned issues, but these too come at a cost, i.e., surface-blocking additives polarize the electrode surface leading to loss in the voltaic and energy efficiencies of the battery. In this contribution, a novel electrolyte additive, benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride (BDAC), is investigated for its ability to suppresses corrosion of Zn in an acidic (pH = 3) electrolyte. An attribute of BDAC distinct from previously studied additives is that it selectively suppresses electrochemical activity when the Zn electrode is at its corrosion potential; however, during high-rate Zn deposition (charging) or stripping (discharging), BDAC is essentially deactivated and thus it does not appreciably polarize the electrode surface, thus minimizing voltaic efficiency losses. This selective corrosion suppression behavior is explored using slow-scan voltammetry, which reveals hysteresis implying a potential- or current-dependent BDAC adsorption mechanism in which BDAC reaches higher surface coverages when the partial currents at the Zn surface are low (e.g., at or near the corrosion potential), but BDAC coverage is reduced considerably when the Zn deposition or stripping rates are increased. Numerical simulations of the BDAC diffusion-adsorption process corroborate this mechanism. Ramifications of our approach to the selective suppression of Zn dendrites are discussed.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Concentrated dual-cation electrolyte strategy for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Rechargeable Zn-ion batteries are highly promising for stationary energy storage because of their low cost and intrinsic safety. However, due to the poor reversibility of Zn anodes and dissolution of oxide cathodes, aqueous Zn-ion batteries encounter rapid performance degradation when operating in conventional low-concentration electrolytes. Herein, we demonstrate that an aqueous Zn2+ electrolyte using a supporting Na salt at a high concentration is efficient to address these issues without sacrificing the power densities, cycling stability, and safety of zinc-ion batteries. We show that the high-concentration solute minimizes the number of free water molecules and the changes in the electronic state of the electrolyte. A combination of experimental and theoretical investigations reveals that a unique interphase, formed on the Zn anode, enables reversible and uniform Zn plating. Utilizing a cathode of sodium vanadate synthesized through a scalable strategy, the Zn–sodium vanadate battery with the concentrated bi-cation electrolyte shows improved cycling stability, decent rate performance, and low self-discharge. This work provides new insights on electrolyte engineering to achieve high-performance aqueous batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Production of fast-charge Zn-based aqueous batteries via interfacial adsorption of ion-oligomer complexes

Abstract Aqueous zinc batteries are attracting interest because of their potential for cost-effective and safe electricity storage. However, metallic zinc exhibits only moderate reversibility in aqueous electrolytes. To circumvent this issue, we study aqueous Zn batteries able to form nanometric interphases at the Zn metal/liquid electrolyte interface, composed of an ion-oligomer complex. In Zn||Zn symmetric cell studies, we report highly reversible cycling at high current densities and capacities (e.g., 160 mA cm −2 ; 2.6 mAh cm −2 ). By means of quartz-crystal microbalance, nuclear magnetic resonance, and voltammetry measurements we show that the interphase film exists in a dynamic equilibrium with oligomers dissolved in the electrolyte. The interphase strategy is applied to aqueous Zn||I 2 and Zn||MnO 2 cells that are charged/discharged for 12,000 cycles and 1000 cycles, respectively, at a current density of 160 mA cm −2 and capacity of approximately 0.85 mAh cm −2 . Finally, we demonstrate that Zn||I 2 -carbon pouch cells (9 cm 2 area) cycle stably and deliver a specific energy of 151 Wh/kg (based on the total mass of active materials in the electrode) at a charge current density of 56 mA cm −2 .

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1976

Development of single cell protectors for sealed silver-zinc cells, phase 1

A single cell protector (SCP) assembly capable of protecting a single silver-zinc (Ag Zn) battery cell was designed, fabricated, and tested. The SCP provides cell-level protection against overcharge and overdischarge by a bypass circuit. The bypass circuit consists of a magnetic-latching relay that is controlled by the high and low-voltage limit comparators. Although designed specifically for secondary Ag-Zn cells, the SCP is flexible enough to be adapted to other rechargeable cells. Eighteen SCPs were used in life testing of an 18-cell battery. The cells were sealed Ag-Zn system with inorganic separators. For comparison, another 18-cell battery was subjected to identical life test conditions, but with battery-level protection rather than cell-level. An alternative approach to the SCP design in the form of a microprocessor-based system was conceptually designed. The comparison of SCP and microprocessor approaches is also presented and a preferred approach for Ag-Zn battery protection is discussed.

Imamura, M. S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanistic Insights in Quinone-Based Zinc Batteries with Nonaqueous Electrolytes

Three quinone-based organic electrodes were tested in nonaqueous Zn-batteries using different salts and solvents. The Zn(TFSI)(2)/acetonitrile system exhibited the best performance due to its excellent transport and electrochemical properties. The mechanistic studies on the electrode kinetics were also carried out. While 2,5-dimethoxybenzoquinone (DMBQ) displayed a typical faradaic battery behavior, its polymeric derivatives showed a slow charge transfer inside the polymeric film as depicted by cyclic voltammograms. (C) 2020 The Electrochemical Society ("ECS"). Published on behalf of ECS by IOP Publishing Limited.

organic electrode, electrolyte, mechanism↗