Superior Electrocatalytic Activity of a Robust Carbon-Felt Electrode with Oxygen-Rich Phosphate Groups for All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.
A newly prepared type of carbon felt with oxygen-rich phosphate groups is proposed as a promising electrode with good stability for all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Through direct surface modification with ammonium hexafluorophosphate (NH4 PF6 ), phosphorus can be successfully incorporated onto the surface of the carbon felt by forming phosphate functional groups with -OH chemical moieties that exhibit good hydrophilicity. The electrochemical reactivity of the carbon felt toward the redox reactions of VO(2+) /VO2 (+) (in the catholyte) and V(3+) /V(2+) (in the anolyte) can be effectively improved owing to the superior catalytic effects of the oxygen-rich phosphate groups. Furthermore, undesirable hydrogen evolution can be suppressed by minimizing the overpotential for the V(3+) /V(2+) redox reaction in the anolyte of the VRFB. Cell-cycling tests with the catalyzed electrodes show improved energy efficiencies of 88.2 and 87.2 % in the 1(st) and 20(th)  cycles compared with 83.0 and 81.1 %, respectively, for the pristine electrodes at a constant current density of 32 mA cm(-2) . These improvements are mainly attributed to the faster charge transfer allowed by the integration of the oxygen-rich phosphate groups on the carbon-felt electrode.
Advanced Batteries Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 463-816, Republic of Korea.|Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 139-743, Republic of Korea.
Ki Jae
KJ
Kim
Advanced Batteries Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 463-816, Republic of Korea.
Heon Seong
HS
Lee
Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, Australian Institute of Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong, Innovation Campus, North Wollongong, New South Wales, 2500, Australia.
Jeonghun
J
Kim
Advanced Batteries Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 463-816, Republic of Korea. mspark@khu.ac.kr.|Department of Advanced Materials, Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin, 446-701, Republic of Korea. mspark@khu.ac.kr.
Min-Sik
MS
Park
Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, Australian Institute of Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong, Innovation Campus, North Wollongong, New South Wales, 2500, Australia. jhk@uow.edu.au.
Jung Ho
JH
Kim
Advanced Batteries Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 463-816, Republic of Korea.
Young-Jun
YJ
Kim
School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia. M.Skyllas-Kazacos@unsw.edu.au.
Maria
M
Skyllas-Kazacos
D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004566:Electrodes; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry; D014639:Vanadium / Q000737:chemistry*; D017155:Wettability
D014639:Vanadium; D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D010100:Oxygen
electrocatalysis; energy storage; flow batteries; redox chemistry; vanadium