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. 2022 Oct 20;23(20):12602.
doi: 10.3390/ijms232012602.

Electrochemically Activated CNT Sheet as a Cathode for Zn-CO2 Batteries

Daniel Rui Chen  1 , Megha Chitranshi  2 , Vesselin Shanov  1   3 , Mark Schulz  2
Affiliations

Electrochemically Activated CNT Sheet as a Cathode for Zn-CO2 Batteries

Daniel Rui Chen et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

High demand for electrochemical storage devices is increasing the need for high-performance batteries. A Zn-CO2 battery offers a promising solution for CO2 reduction as well as energy storage applications. For this study, a Zn-CO2 battery was fabricated using a Carbon Nanotube (CNT) sheet as a cathode and a Zn plate as an anode. The electrochemical activation technique was used to increase the surface area of the CNT electrode by roughly 4.5 times. Copper (Cu) as a catalyst was then deposited onto the activated CNT electrode using electrodeposition method and different Cu loadings were investigated to optimize CO2 reduction. The final assembled Zn-CO2 battery has a 1.6 V output voltage at a current density of 0.063 mA/cm2, which is higher than most devices reported in the literature. This study demonstrates the importance of activation process which enabled more catalyst loading on the cathode resulted in additional active sites for electroreduction process. This paper presents the activated CNT sheet as a promising cathode material for Zn-CO2 batteries.

Keywords: CNT/Cu composite; CO2 reduction; Zn-CO2 battery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The illustration of process steps used for preparing CNT samples for analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CV curve of acid-treated and activated CNT.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM images of acid-treated CNT with Cu organic deposition: surface morphology (A,B), as well as cross-sectional images (C,D), and EDX spectrum of the selected area (E).
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM images of activated CNT with Cu organic deposition: surface morphology (A,B), as well as cross-sectional images (C,D), and EDX spectrum from cross-sectional area of the activated sample (E).
Figure 5
Figure 5
LSV curve (A) and potentiostatic curve (B) of acid-treated CNT with 10 Hrs Cu organic deposition and activated CNT with 10 Hrs organic deposition.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic diagram of the Zn-CO2 electrochemical cell.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Discharging curve of acid-treated CNT for 20 min (A), activated CNT (B), Cu-deposited acid-treated CNT (C), Cu deposited activated CNT (D), discharging curve of Cu deposited activated CNT at different current densities (E).
Figure 8
Figure 8
1H NMR graph of the by-product electrolyte (A) and acetic acid by possible product pathway from CO2 reduction (B).
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