Carbon
Carbon
5 years ago

Carbon layer-exfoliated, wettability-enhanced, SO3H-functionalized carbon paper: A superior positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery

Carbon layer-exfoliated, wettability-enhanced, SO3H-functionalized carbon paper: A superior positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery
In this paper, carbon paper as positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery was etched by chlorosulfonic acid with assistance of ultrasonication. Carbon layer-exfoliated, wettability-enhanced, SO3H-functionalized carbon paper was successfully achieved by facile treatment. The electrochemical kinetics of VO2+/VO2 + redox reaction on carbon paper was significantly improved after the treatment. Carbon paper after ultrasonication-assisted treatment exhibits better electrochemical activity compared with the untreated and only-soaking samples. The cell using treated carbon paper as positive electrode shows larger discharge capacity and higher energy efficiency compared with the pristine cell. The initial discharge capacity of the cell using optimal treated carbon paper reaches 127.7 mA h, 20.8 mA h larger than that of the pristine one at 50 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the average energy efficiency increases by 5.1% by using the treated electrode. The introduced sulfonic groups as active sites and increased surface area by etching can reduce the electrochemical polarization of VO2+/VO2 + redox reaction. Moreover, the improved wettability of treated carbon paper can accelerate mass transfer of active species. Therefore, the reduced electrochemical polarization and accelerated mass transfer of active species conjointly cause the enhanced electrochemical properties of the treated carbon paper.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0008622317311090

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.