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Review
. 2023 Jul 20;3(6):20220073.
doi: 10.1002/EXP.20220073. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Scientific issues of zinc-bromine flow batteries and mitigation strategies

Masud Rana  1 , Norah Alghamdi  1   2   3 , Xiyue Peng  1 , Yongxin Huang  1 , Bin Wang  4 , Lianzhou Wang  1   5 , Ian R Gentle  2 , Steven Hickey  6 , Bin Luo  1
Affiliations
Review

Scientific issues of zinc-bromine flow batteries and mitigation strategies

Masud Rana et al. Exploration (Beijing). .

Abstract

Zinc-bromine flow batteries (ZBFBs) are promising candidates for the large-scale stationary energy storage application due to their inherent scalability and flexibility, low cost, green, and environmentally friendly characteristics. ZBFBs have been commercially available for several years in both grid scale and residential energy storage applications. Nevertheless, their continued development still presents challenges associated with electrodes, separators, electrolyte, as well as their operational chemistry. Therefore, rational design of these components in ZBFBs is of utmost importance to further improve the overall device performance. In this review, the focus is on the scientific understanding of the fundamental electrochemistry and functional components of ZBFBs, with an emphasis on the technical challenges of reaction chemistry, development of functional materials, and their application in ZBFBs. Current limitations of ZBFBs with future research directions in the development of high performance ZBFBs are suggested.

Keywords: energy storage; flow battery; functional materials.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic diagram of the typical ZBFB with different functional components.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A) Calculated polybromide structures from Br3 − to Br7 − which interact with MEP to form polybromide complexes. (B) Mechanism for the electrochemical formation of MEPBr5 on Pt surface. Reproduced with permission.[ 22 ] Copyright 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (C) Two phases of the electrolyte as the addition of Br2. Reproduced with permission.[ 25 ] Copyright 2021, the Royal Society of Chemistry.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Schematic illustration of the interfacial parasitic reactions on the negative electrode of ZBFBs.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Schematic illustration of three different SOC% of negative electrode, where H+ is more likely to be reduced with decreased zinc concentration in the electrolyte.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Dendrite formation on zinc (A–E), dendrite dissolution (F–J), and dendrite regrowth (K–O) at different stages of charge and discharge. Reproduced with permission.[ 79 ] Copyright 2018 Elsevier Inc. (P) Artistic mechanism to grow dendrite in ZBFBs. Reproduced with permission.[ 39 ] Copyright 2020, the royal Society of Chemistry.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Two half cells at closed circuit to demonstrate the shunt current mechanism. Reproduced with permission.[ 42 ] Copyright 2016, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
(A) Catalytic mechanism of PNSC during charge/discharge. Reproduced with permission.[ 45 ] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. (B) ZIF‐8 derived non‐defective and defective carbon layers on the CF surfaces. (C) Zn agglomeration and non‐uniform plating on the non‐defective CF surface and (D) uniform nucleation and lateral plating of Zn on the defective carbon‐coated CF. Reproduced with permission.[ 46 ] Copyright 2020, The Royal Society of Chemistry. (E) The voltage profile of rGO‐CF in comparison to PCF. Reproduced with permission.[ 47 ] Copyright 2018, Elsevier.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
(A) bimodal highly ordered nanostructured carbon to promote Br2/Br‐ conversion. Reproduced with permission.[ 49 ] Copyright 2016, Elsevier. (B) Galvanostatic discharge/charge profiles of ZBFBs with the CTPPy‐modified graphite felt and unmodified graphite felt. Reproduced with permission.[ 50 ] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. (C) Charge and discharge profiles of CF, MWCNT modified CF, and SWCNT modified CF as positive electrode at the current density of 20 mA cm−2. Reproduced with permission.[ 51 ] Copyright 2014 American Chemical Society. (D) Comparison of the galvanostatic discharge/charge profile of the cell with different cell/electrode configuration at the current of 20 mA cm−2. Reproduced with permission.[ 52 ] Copyright 2018, Elsevier. (E) NTCF electrode with abundant N‐rich defects for ZBFBs. Reproduced with permission from Ref.[7a] Copyright 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (F) Galvanostatic discharge/charge profiles of different carbon based electrodes at 80 mA cm−2. Reproduced with permission.[ 53 ] Copyright 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
(A) Mechanism to control the pH using Cr3+ secret agent by the electrostatic repulsion (taken and modified from other works). Reproduced with permission.[ 34 ] Copyright 2018, Elsevier Ltd. (B) 10−4 m Pb and (C) 10−4 m Pb + 5 × 10−5 m tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB). Reproduced with permission.[ 79 ] Copyright 2011, Elsevier Ltd. (D) Illustration of the possible reactions and SEI formation mechanism on Zinc electrode surface. Reproduced with permission.[ 81 ] Copyright 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
(A) Cycling performance of the static cells with different electrolytes at 0.3 mA cm−2. (B) Optical image of the carbon electrode surface after being charged for 1 h at 5 mA cm−2 in TPABr electrolyte. (C) Br3 − solution and its mixture with different complexing agents. (D) Raman spectra of the Br3 − solution and its mixtures with MEPBr and TPABr. Reproduced with permission.[ 77 ] Copyright 2020, Elsevier Ltd.
FIGURE 11
FIGURE 11
(A) Schematics of the proposed NGF electrode and mechanism for Br conversion/storage in membraneless‐Zn/Br battery. (B) Mechanism illustration of NGF‐1000 and NGF‐700 electrodes for the capture and storage of Br species. Reproduced with permission.[ 57 ] Copyright 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (C) 2.5 m ZnBr2 and 20 m ZnBr2 + 10 m LiCl electrolyte after charging process. Reproduced with permission.[ 83 ] Copyright 2022, The Royal Society of Chemistry. (D) charge and discharge state of membrane free static Zinc bromine battery. Reproduced with permission.[ 84 ] Copyright 2017, The Royal Society of Chemistry.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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