{"title":"Multiple cycle chromium poisoning and in-situ electrochemical cleaning of LSM-based solid oxide fuel cell cathodes","authors":"Zhikuan Zhu , Michelle Sugimoto , Uday Pal , Srikanth Gopalan , Soumendra Basu","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100037","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Electrochemical cleaning, a recently proposed mitigation strategy for chromium poisoning in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes, involves rapid <em>in-situ</em> removal of Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> deposits from LSM-YSZ cathodes accompanied by a recovery of a large fraction of the cell performance originally lost due to Cr poisoning. By operating the cell briefly as a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC), the cleaning method effectively reverses the Cr deposition reactions, reforming Cr-containing vapor species, thereby freeing up electrochemically active sites and restoring cell performance. In practice, this method can be periodically applied to the system after a specified amount of degradation due to chromium poisoning has occurred. The current study investigates the efficacy of this method by cycling a single cell through a stage of accelerated poisoning followed by electrochemical cleaning for a total of three times. Current-voltage measurements demonstrate repeated loss in performance due to Cr poisoning and recovery in performance due to electrochemical cleaning, reinforcing the utility of this cleaning method over the lifetime of the cell operation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100037"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91778699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electro-osmotic flow and the limiting current in alkaline water electrolysis","authors":"J.W. Haverkort, H. Rajaei","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100034","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100034","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Under alkaline conditions, hydroxide ions can deplete at the anode of a water electrolyser for hydrogen production, resulting in a limiting current density. We found experimentally that in a micro-porous separator, an electro-osmotic flow from anode to cathode lowers this limiting current density. Using the Nernst-Planck equation, a useful expression for the potential drop in the presence of diffusion, migration, and advection is derived. A quasi-stationary, one-dimensional model is used to successfully describe the transient dynamics. Electro-osmotic flow-driven cross-over of dissolved oxygen is argued to impact the hydrogen purity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100034"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100034","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"99445352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wolfgang Brehm , Aggunda L. Santhosha , Zhenggang Zhang , Christof Neumann , Andrey Turchanin , Martin Seyring , Markus Rettenmayr , Johannes R. Buchheim , Philipp Adelhelm
{"title":"Mechanochemically synthesized Cu3P/C composites as a conversion electrode for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries in different electrolytes","authors":"Wolfgang Brehm , Aggunda L. Santhosha , Zhenggang Zhang , Christof Neumann , Andrey Turchanin , Martin Seyring , Markus Rettenmayr , Johannes R. Buchheim , Philipp Adelhelm","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Copper phosphide (Cu<sub>3</sub>P) is a potentially high volumetric capacity conversion electrode for the use in Li-ion as well as in Na-ion batteries. Here, we study the lithium and sodium storage properties of Cu<sub>3</sub>P/Carbon (Cu<sub>3</sub>P/C) composites containing 70 wt% Cu<sub>3</sub>P and 30 wt% carbon black. Cu<sub>3</sub>P is prepared by reactive ball milling from the elements while in a second step Cu<sub>3</sub>P is mixed with carbon black by non-reactive ball milling. Structure and morphology are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). The electrochemical properties are studied in Li and Na half cells with different types of electrolytes based on carbonates (EC:DMC mixture) or diglyme, with the latter clearly leading to better results such as higher capacity, better cycle life and smaller polarization. After 120 cycles, the Li-cell showed a capacity of 210 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> while around 120 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> were found for the Na cell. The contribution of the carbon black is negligible in case of the Li cell while it becomes an important factor in the Na cell. Electrode expansion/shrinkage of the electrode during cycling (“breathing”) as determined by in situ dilatometry is fairly constant in diglyme electrolytes while rapid fading is observed in carbonate electrolytes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100031"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100031","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"103466552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Juan D. Forero-Saboya , Matic Lozinšek , Alexandre Ponrouch
{"title":"Towards dry and contaminant free Ca(BF4)2-based electrolytes for Ca plating","authors":"Juan D. Forero-Saboya , Matic Lozinšek , Alexandre Ponrouch","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100032","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100032","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Calcium-metal-anode based batteries have recently gained much attention owing to their higher theoretical capacity when compared to the commercial lithium-ion cells. However, electrodeposition of metallic calcium is challenging and currently there is only a few reported organic electrolytes allowing reversible plating/stripping, including Ca(BF<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub> in carbonate solvents. Many of the commercial salts are sold as hydrates, which is the case of Ca(BF<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, however the drying of a divalent-metal cation organic electrolyte is not trivial. Herein, several procedures for drying BF<sub>4</sub><sup>−</sup>-based electrolytes are explored and discussed. It is shown that the tetrafluoroborate anion can easily get hydrolyzed during some drying protocols producing impurities, and thus, it is necessary to prepare the salt in anhydrous conditions to ensure low water and contaminant contents. Two different synthetic routes are presented as alternatives to the commercial hydrated salt.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100032"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100032","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"96576128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conducting polymer composites as water-dispersible electrode matrices for Li-Ion batteries: Synthesis and characterization","authors":"Van At Nguyen , Jian Wang , Christian Kuss","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100033","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100033","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As battery materials increase in energy density, the likelihood of larger morphological changes during cycling increases. Current PVDF/carbon electrode matrices are ill-prepared for such materials and new battery electrode matrices are required. Typical strategies replace PVDF by aqueous binders, utilize other carbonaceous conductive additives or add small amounts of conducting polymers. In this study, we propose a class of water-processable, self-conductive electrode matrices that relies on the combination of polyelectrolyte binders with conducting polymers. By in situ polymerizing conducting polymer monomers in an aqueous solution of carboxylate-containing polymers, new electrode matrices are synthesized, in which components are intimately mixed at the nano-scale. Herein, the molecular composite polypyrrole:carboxymethyl cellulose (PPy:CMC), as a representative electrode matrix, allows the water-based electrode fabrication of carbon-additive-free electrodes. No additional binders and conductive additives are required to fabricate electrodes due to the adhesive and conductive features of PPy:CMC composites. This study paves the way for developing a promising type of electrode matrices for Li-ion batteries based on conducting polymer molecular composites that are adhesive and conductive, ensuring high-energy-density battery materials maintain active over more cycles.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100033"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"101885383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Pitta Bauermann, L.V. Mesquita, C. Bischoff, M. Drews, O. Fitz, A. Heuer, D. Biro
{"title":"Scanning acoustic microscopy as a non-destructive imaging tool to localize defects inside battery cells","authors":"L. Pitta Bauermann, L.V. Mesquita, C. Bischoff, M. Drews, O. Fitz, A. Heuer, D. Biro","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) is shown here for the first time to be suitable for the visualization of defects like electrolyte leakage, faulty electrodes and gas accumulation inside coin and pouch battery cells. These failures are detected through the local atypical reflection of acoustic waves at faulty interfaces. Individual images are produced from the reflected wavefronts obtained at specific time delays allowing additionally information about the depth of the investigated failures. This fast and non-destructive visualization tool can be used for the quality control of battery cells during their production, contributing to a fast and economic screening of new materials or new production steps. SAM also brings a valuable contribution on the assistance in choosing representative spots of the battery for post-mortem analyses. SAM is in its infancy regarding the characterization of batteries. Fields for further development are suggested and discussed here.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100035"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"108828949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hans Becker , Thomas Bacquart , Mark Perkins , Niamh Moore , Jari Ihonen , Gareth Hinds , Graham Smith
{"title":"Operando characterisation of the impact of carbon monoxide on PEMFC performance using isotopic labelling and gas analysis","authors":"Hans Becker , Thomas Bacquart , Mark Perkins , Niamh Moore , Jari Ihonen , Gareth Hinds , Graham Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Impurities in hydrogen can have a detrimental effect on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) used in automotive applications. However, the establishment of reliable threshold limits for each impurity is hampered by a lack of information on the distribution and speciation of impurities within the cell, including the impact of internal reactions and gas crossover. Here we describe a novel <em>operando</em> method for detailed investigation of the impact of impurities on a single cell PEMFC, using a combination of isotopic labelling and measurement of gas composition at the anode exhaust via Gas Chromatography – Methaniser with Flame Ionisation Detector (GC-Methaniser-FID) and Selected Ion Flow Tube – Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS). We demonstrate the utility of this approach in the study of the impact of internal air bleed on carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, enabling quantification of the surface coverage of CO on the anode catalyst as a function of cathode back-pressure. This technique shows great promise as a diagnostic tool for the investigation of the impact of a wide range of impurities at stack level (e.g. hydrocarbons, ammonia, halogenated compounds).</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100036"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100036","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91706584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xianhui Zhang , Hao Jia , Yaobin Xu , Lianfeng Zou , Mark H. Engelhard , Bethany E. Matthews , Chongmin Wang , Ji-Guang Zhang , Wu Xu
{"title":"Unravelling high-temperature stability of lithium-ion battery with lithium-rich oxide cathode in localized high-concentration electrolyte","authors":"Xianhui Zhang , Hao Jia , Yaobin Xu , Lianfeng Zou , Mark H. Engelhard , Bethany E. Matthews , Chongmin Wang , Ji-Guang Zhang , Wu Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Lithium (Li)-rich manganese (Mn)-rich oxide (LMR) cathode materials, despite of the high specific capacity up to 250 mAh g<sup>−1</sup> suffer from instability of cathode/electrolyte interfacial layer at high working voltages, causing continuous voltage decay and capacity fading, especially at elevated temperatures. In various battery systems, localized high-concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) have been widely reported as a promising candidate to form effective electrode/electrolyte interphases. Here, an optimized LHCE is studied in graphite (Gr)-based full cells containing LMR cathode, being cycled at 25, 45 and 60 °C with the reference of a conventional LiPF<sub>6</sub>-based electrolyte. It is revealed that the LHCE can effectively suppress continuous electrolyte decompositions and mitigate the dissolution of Mn ions due to the formation of more protective electrode/electrolyte interphases on both anode and cathode, which, in turn, lead to significantly improved cycling stability and enhanced rate capability under the selected temperatures. The mechanistic understanding on the failure of the conventional LiPF<sub>6</sub>-containing electrolyte and the function of the LHCE in Gr||LMR cells under high temperatures provides valuable perspectives of electrolyte development for practical applications of LMR cathodes in high energy density batteries over a wide temperature range.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100024"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100024","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"97765370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A high-temperature anion-exchange membrane fuel cell","authors":"John C. Douglin , John R. Varcoe , Dario R. Dekel","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the past few years, developments in anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have led to a significant increase in hydroxide conductivities, ultimately yielding striking improvements in the performance of anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) at low operating temperatures, usually at 40–80 °C. Aside from these remarkable achievements, the literature is void of any work on AEMFCs operated at temperatures above 100 °C, despite the consensus from various models remarking that working at higher cell temperatures may lead to many significant advantages. In this work, we present the first high-temperature AEMFC (HT-AEMFC) tested at 110 °C. The HT-AEMFC exhibits high performance, with a peak power density of 2.1 W cm<sup>−2</sup> and a current density of as high as 574 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> measured at 0.8 V. This initial work represents a significant landmark for the research and development of the fuel cell technology, opening a wide door for a new field of research we call hereafter, <em>HT-AEMFCs</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100023"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44415712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-discharge of lithium-ion capacitors","authors":"Binson Babu, Andrea Balducci","doi":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.powera.2020.100026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this work we report a detailed investigation about the self-discharge of lithium-ion capacitors (LICs). To date, this process has been only marginally investigated. However,the understanding of the dynamics of the self-discharge taking place in LICs appear of importance in view of the optimization of their performance. We showed that LIC display a rather high self-discharge, comparable to that of electrochemical capacitor, and that the main responsible for this process is the positive electrode. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the use of repeated float tests is affecting the self-discharge of LICs, and that after 50–100 h at high voltage their self-discharge is significantly reduced.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34318,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Power Sources Advances","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100026"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100026","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"108042569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}