Zhao Nana, Riley Harry, Song Chaojie, Jiang Zhengming, Tsay Keh-Chyun, Neagu Roberto, Shi Zhiqing
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 4250 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1W5, Canada.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Mar 17;13(6):926. doi: 10.3390/polym13060926.
Polymer membranes play a vital role in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), acting as a separator between the two compartments, an electronic insulator for maintaining electrical neutrality of the cell, and an ionic conductor for allowing the transport of ionic charge carriers. It is a major influencer of VRFB performance, but also identified as one of the major factors limiting the large-scale implementation of VRFB technology in energy storage applications due to its cost and durability. In this work, five (5) high-priority characteristics of membranes related to VRFB performance were selected as major considerable factors for membrane screening before in-situ testing. Eight (8) state-of-the-art of commercially available ion exchange membranes (IEMs) were specifically selected, evaluated and compared by a set of ex-situ assessment approaches to determine the possibility of the membranes applied for VRFB. The results recommend perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes and hydrocarbon anion exchange membranes (AEMs) as the candidates for further in-situ testing, while one hydrocarbon cation exchange membrane (CEM) is not recommended for VRFB application due to its relatively high VO ion crossover and low mechanical stability during/after the chemical stability test. This work could provide VRFB researchers and industry a valuable reference for selecting the polymer membrane materials before VRFB in-situ testing.
聚合物膜在钒氧化还原液流电池（VRFBs）中起着至关重要的作用，它作为两个腔室之间的隔膜，是维持电池电中性的电子绝缘体，也是允许离子电荷载体传输的离子导体。它是VRFB性能的主要影响因素，但由于其成本和耐久性，也被认为是限制VRFB技术在储能应用中大规模实施的主要因素之一。在这项工作中，选择了与VRFB性能相关的五个高优先级膜特性作为原位测试前膜筛选的主要考虑因素。专门选择了八种（8）市售离子交换膜（IEMs）的先进产品，通过一套非原位评估方法进行评估和比较，以确定这些膜应用于VRFB的可能性。结果推荐全氟磺酸（PFSA）膜和烃类阴离子交换膜（AEMs）作为进一步原位测试的候选膜，而一种烃类阳离子交换膜（CEM）由于其相对较高的VO离子渗透率以及在化学稳定性测试期间/之后较低的机械稳定性，不推荐用于VRFB应用。这项工作可为VRFB研究人员和行业在VRFB原位测试前选择聚合物膜材料提供有价值的参考。
