Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (USA) have stopped a breakthrough in creating catalysts for flow batteries. These are bulky devices with two tanks with liquid electrolyte – anolyte and catholyte, which, when pumped through an ion-selective membrane, generate current. Their reduction for the appearance of an energy reserve, since tanks with charged and discharged electrolyte are easy to change and adjust.
The efficiency of a flow battery is directly related to the composition of the electrolyte, and this is a vast area for research and experimentation. American scientists were looking for a way to dissolve more fluorenol in water, and on the advice of colleagues from Yale University, they used β-cyclodextrin, a ward of sugar. Surprisingly, the newly formulated liquid is expected to have excellent proton retention, which allows electrons to pass through the hermetic protection of the cherry membrane.
After a series of experiments, it was possible to choose the composition of the electrolyte, which increased the charge level by more than 60%. Unlike solutions with metal nanoparticles used for the same purposes, sugar completely dissolves in the liquid and is not detected or precipitated. It is estimated that it will be possible to further increase the power of the battery, achieving an increase in power 4-5 times greater than that of lithium batteries.
Trying to check the impact of a new impact on battery performance, calculate the allowable load for more than a year and it is irrational to calculate it. They lasted even further, the plastic tube for pumping liquid did not even break. What a surprise it was when I felt that the dissolution did not degrade during this time, and the battery only slightly lost capacity.
Source: Tech Cult
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