Review-Ionic Liquids Applications in Flow Batteries

Increasing energy demand throughout the world produces great environmental issues, therefore, renewable and clean energy sources, such as tidal energy, wind energy, solar energy and geothermal energy, are desirable request. Meanwhile, developing a new critical energy storage technology to balance the instantaneous energy supply and demand of arranged electric energy is urgent. Rechargeable flow batteries are solutions for storing electricity in form of chemical energy, containing positive and negative electrodes reserved in two separate containers, which have the advantages of low self-discharge and independent scaling of power, therefore considered as promising energy storage technologies. Ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely studied and used in energy storage devices, such as lithium ion battery, for their unique prospective properties. Herein, the key role of ILs and their applications in supporting electrolytes, separators and additives in flow batteries are highlighted in this review. The approaches and challenges in developing ILs supported flow batteries are discussed, and a significative overview of the opportunities of ILs promote flow batteries are finally provided, which is expected to help achieving further improvements in flow batteries.

Automated summary

The increasing global energy demand poses environmental issues, making renewable and clean energy sources and new energy storage technologies crucial. Rechargeable flow batteries are a promising solution for energy storage, and this review highlights the key role of ionic liquids in supporting electrolytes, separators, and additives in flow batteries. The challenges and opportunities for developing ionic liquid-supported flow batteries are discussed, aiming to improve the performance of flow batteries.