Boron-functionalized carbon felt electrode for enhancing the electrochemical performance of vanadium redox flow batteries

Herein, boron-doped carbon felt (B-CF) was proposed as a promising electrode for ensuring the outstanding electrochemical performance of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Boron-functional groups can be successfully introduced onto carbon felt (CF) via NH4BF4 treatment. The hydrophobic nature of CF is changed to hydrophilicity via the incorporation of boron-functional groups, resulting in excellent affinity with the electrolytes of VRFBs. A VRFB cell containing B-CF exhibits higher energy efficiency (80.56%) than that of CF (63.40%) at 100 mA cm(-2) current density. This improvement is attributed to the enhanced electrocatalytic properties of B-CF toward VO2+/VO2+ and V2+/V3+ redox reactions.

Automated summary

Boron-doped carbon felt is proposed as a promising electrode for vanadium redox flow batteries, with enhanced affinity with electrolytes and improved energy efficiency attributed to its enhanced electrocatalytic properties towards redox reactions.