Abstract
Although Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB) are suitable for grid-scale applications, their power-related cost must be reduced in order to boost the use of this technology in the market, allowing their widespread commercialization. One effective way to make the VRFB a competitive and viable solution could be through new strategies for improving the electrocatalytic activity of the electrodes with enhanced electrolyte/electrode interface characteristics. Herein, we report the synergistic effect demonstrated by N- and WO3- decorated carbon-based positive electrode, named HTNW electrode, which demonstrates the feasibility of achieving: i) enhanced electrocatalytic activity, achieving large current density and high reversibility towards VO2+/VO2 + couple (promotion of oxygen and electron transfer processes), ii) decrement of the electron-transfer resistance from 76.18 Ω to 13.00 Ω for the pristine electrode and HTNW electrodes, respectively; iii) 51% of the electrolyte utilization ratio at high rates (i.e. 200 mA cm−2) with 70% of energy efficiency; iv) increment of more than 50% of the power–peak in comparison with pristine electrode.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 444-453 |
| Journal | Carbon |
| Volume | 136 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2018 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
Authors thank Generalitat de Catalunya for financial support through the CERCA Program, MINECO for additional support by coordinated project ENE2016-80788-C5-5-R , M2E under the Grant no. 2017SGR1246 , and Fundación Ramón Areces funding through BAT-LIMET project . S.M.L. gratefully acknowledges support from Spanish government under Grant no. FJCI-2014-19745 . The authors are grateful to the financial support of Iranian National Committee of Nanotechnology in Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the office of Vice Chancellor in Charge of Research of University of Tabriz . Authors thank Generalitat de Catalunya for financial support through the CERCA Program, MINECO for additional support by coordinated project ENE2016-80788-C5-5-R, M2E under the Grant no. 2017SGR1246, and Fundación Ramón Areces funding through BAT-LIMET project. S.M.L. gratefully acknowledges support from Spanish government under Grant no. FJCI-2014-19745. The authors are grateful to the financial support of Iranian National Committee of Nanotechnology in Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the office of Vice Chancellor in Charge of Research of University of Tabriz.
